


Kintsukuroi

by Lightningdawn



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Angst, Brawl Era, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dialogue Heavy, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Selectively Mute Red (Pokemon), Subspace Emissary (Super Smash Brothers)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24650440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightningdawn/pseuds/Lightningdawn
Summary: When you've been broken, it can be hard to believe you can be whole again, but maybe all you need is someone to mend the pieces of your heart in gold. Lucas and Red, two seemingly unalike boys, find themselves traveling together during the fight against the Subspace Army. United in nothing but their shattered pasts, they learn that sometimes friendship really can be salvation. Crossposted from Fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Lucas (Mother 3) & Red (Pokemon)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Lucas, and see the circumstances that led him to Smash.

_I should have never come here._

Footsteps echoed in the vast, bleak landscape, a torn-up place of sadness and nostalgia warped into something sinister. Rain pelted the young teen, pushing down his hair and soaking his face as he ran. Lucas could still hear that awful laughter, chilling him more than the storm ever could. Lightning illuminated the scene in his mind once more - a stone-cold statue in the grips of a truly vile man.

He couldn't outrun those pitch-black arrows, and he certainly couldn't outrun his own cowardice.

And yet he ran.

 _I should have_ _ **never**_ _come_ here!

* * *

Of course, he had never wanted to come in the first place.

Lucas hadn't wanted to do much of anything since all was said and done.

Tazmily was thriving, once again, restored by the Dark Dragon's touch. Lucas had felt the Dragon's every move - their heartbeats merged together as one, every breath in sync. Pulling that needle had freed it to the surface, bending to Lucas's will. It felt Lucas's pain and anguish, felt his bitterness towards the world, and his screams had intermingled with the Dragon's roars until neither could be told apart from the other. It felt his grief, felt his pain, felt the phantom weight of his brother in his arms.

But most of all, it felt love.

Love. Lucas's sole motivator in life. It was pure, unadulterated love that allowed him to bring the world to a halt and bear it anew. Love for his friends - strong, fiery Kumatora, cool, steady Duster, and his ever-faithful dog Boney. Love for his family as well, seeing each of their faces in his mind. But most of all, love for his screwed-up world, and it was love that bore his neverending hope it could be redeemed.

The world had been reset anew thanks to love, but love went hand in hand with grief. There was always a price to pay.

Lucas knew it was normal to grieve. He had spent many long days after Mother passed just sitting at her spinning wheel, softly whispering a prayer that he would open his eyes and see her there at the table. But when his eyes opened, he was always the only one in the room.

He had slowly gotten stronger. His heart still ached, but he no longer cried himself to sleep. He had begun going outside again and tending to the sheep, because goodness knew Father was never home. Up until the fateful day all was set in motion by the reappearance of Duster, he had started picking himself up and carrying on.

The journey had been a whirlwind of impossibilities. Developing his powers, hunting needles, fighting the mysterious other who shared his gift of PK Love - it all had melted together, day after day. But from the journey, Lucas found himself with a family. Bound not by blood but the experiences they shared, Kumatora and Duster were as older siblings to him.

And yet they couldn't console him after the ultimate loss, having the one hope he had clung to - Claus being _alive_ \- confirmed, just to be ripped away.

Lucas had tried to pretend he was fine. He had faked a smile and tried to stay positive, for everyone's sake. He fooled those who weren't close to him - but he couldn't fool his friends. He couldn't fool his father. And he was certain he couldn't fool the one who had watched his journey, always beside him though they couldn't be seen. He had been truthful when he had called out to the vast skies, pleading with the universe to let the one who influenced it all to have a good life. What was it he had said...?

 _"Hey, other world! Be good to_ _ _!"_

It had been something like that. Funny - he could no longer recall their name. Despite all that happened, Lucas knew he would have never made it through his journey without them. His love extended to them too - but somehow, he doubted that they had believed he was truly alright.

Had it been their doing, sending the mysterious invitation...?

* * *

When Lucas had received the letter, he had instantly thrown it away.

It had been a warm afternoon, but Lucas hadn't been outside enjoying the sunlight. He had stayed inside, sitting again at Mother's wheel, spinning it slowly despite no wool being attached. It was a distraction - something he tried to deny needing. Sudden barking from outside had brought him out of the trancelike state he had been working himself into.

"What is it, Boney?" He had called tiredly, dully aware of how hoarse his voice was from disuse. He had received no answer. Sighing, he had slowly dragged himself up, and opened the door, the sunlight absolutely dazzling. Sitting on the step had been an envelope.

He had scooped it, tearing it open after finding no writing on the outside besides his name. The penmanship was not one he had recognized. The paper had been crisp and heavy - very expensive looking. His eyebrows had raised, reading the neat inscription.

_To Mr. Lucas,_

_You are hereby formally invited to the third Super Smash Brothers tournament as a newcomer participant._

_This tournament is among the largest fighting tournaments in the galaxy. Lodging and necessities will be provided at the Smash Mansion, where you will live alongside many others when you are not battling._

_If you accept, return your reply to the man in black standing in the town square. He will remain there for three days._

_Once accepted, you will have one month to prepare. Pack your belongings and be prepared to be transported to the meeting site at dawn a month from accepting. Be waiting in front of your house._

_Sincerely,_

_Master Hand_

_Organizer and Head of the Super Smash Brothers Tournament._

Lucas had frowned, cyan eyes scanning each word. It was ridiculous. A fighting tournament? Who would want Lucas, of all people, for that?

He had promptly tossed it aside and had returned to spinning the wheel. He wasn't going. That was final.

Except, well, Kumatora had something to say about that.

She had barged into his house without knocking a few hours later. Kuma never knocked. Generally having a "I don't give a crap" attitude, she didn't appreciate nonsense like waiting for someone to answer the door.

Following behind her had been Duster, less aggressive. He had lightly rapped on the doorframe even though Kumatora had already let herself in.

"There's a man in the square askin' for you, Lucas." She had said, pacing the parameters of the room. "Dressed in black. No idea who he is, but says he's waitin' for an answer from you. What's he talkin' about?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing." Lucas had shrugged, putting on a fake smile. "Just an answer to some letter. I'll tell him "no" when I next go out."

"Lucas, you haven't been out of the house in three days." Duster had piped up, gentle concern showing through. "Flint said you were still here every time he's come in -"

"Twice." Lucas had interrupted with a quiet mumble. "Father has only been here twice."

"Today?" Duster had asked softly, pulling up a chair from the table. Wood dragged along wood as Kumatora grabbed one too.

"No, in the past three." Lucas had answered him quietly, averting his gaze. He had kept spinning the wheel slowly, its movement almost hypnotic. It had given him somewhere to look besides his friends' eyes. He hadn't wanted to see their sympathy.

"Lucas..." Duster had begun, worry in his tone. "You can't keep locking yourself away."

"I'm not." Lucas's lie had been bitter in his mouth. It was obviously false. Claus had always told him what a terrible liar he was.

Just thinking of his twin had sent a sharp stab of grief through his heart and he had balled his fists, willing even the possibility of tears away. That was another thing that was so different in grieving for his brother - Lucas could not cry.

Even at the funeral, when all was said and done, he could not shed the tears that had gathered within him. It was as though he was paralyzed - he longed to let his pain out but his tears would not come. He could feel them gather, but they never showed.

And so Lucas turned to alternative measures of releasing his pain. His current favored method was isolation.

He couldn't bring his grief to light by crying, so he locked himself away from anyone else. When he sat in an empty room, accompanied only by the overbearing sound of his own breathing, he could feel his pain around him instead of trapped within. It was torture, and the only way he could truly _feel_ his sadness. It being free to flow around him was better than the weight of it in his soul.

It was a form of self-harm, and deep inside, Lucas knew this, but he rejected that truth. It was much easier for him to deny it being denial.

He had suddenly come to the awareness that he had been ignoring Duster, who had been speaking. Lucas had given an apologetic sigh, and had asked him to repeat what he had said.

Duster had been frustrated, but tried to hide it. This had added to Lucas's guilt - although he knew Duster never wanted to make him feel bad. "Lucas," He had begun softly, the concern in his tone making Lucas flinch, "We're worried about you. This isn't healthy, shutting yourself away. You're not even dressed - when was the last time you changed your pajamas?"

"You're not eatin', you haven't come out in days - kiddo, you ain't okay." Kumatora had spoken roughly, likely to cover up the emotion in her voice.

"We want to help you." Duster had pleaded. "We're trying. We know it's hard, but Claus -"

 _"Don't say his name!"_ Lucas had wanted to scream that out, but with the suffocating feeling in his chest taking over, all he had been able to manage was a whisper. More than ever, Lucas had wished he could just let it out.

"He wouldn't want this, Lucas." Duster had finished quietly. "You were _everything_ to him. You need to take care of yourself."

"I am taking care of myself." He had lied flatly. Duster had just sadly shook his head.

"Takin' care of yourself involves leavin' the house, kid." Kumatora had seemed slightly frustrated. "Bein' alone ain't helpin' you."

"It _hurts,_ Kuma." Lucas had whispered, curling his knees up to his chest. "It _hurts._ "

"I know, Lucas." Her normally rough voice had went uncharacteristically soft. Her arms had been around him before he had a chance to reply. That had been fine with him; Lucas had nothing to say.

Duster's sharp green eyes had drifted to the discarded letter on the floor. Picking it up before Lucas had the chance to stop him, he had started to read it. The thief had gone quiet, before finally raising his head. "You got invited to a tournament?"

"I'm not going." Lucas had quietly mumbled. Kumatora had reached over and plucked the letter from Duster's hands, mouthing the words as she had read. A look of inspiration had come over her face.

"Kid, this is _exactly_ what you need!" She had declared, springing up from the chair. Her enthusiasm had almost sent it flying. "Bein' around Tazmily clearly ain't helping - what you need is a new place!"

Lucas had started to object, but Duster had held up a hand to stop him mid-thought. "Kuma is right, Lucas." He had spoken earnestly. "This would get you out of the house, get you to meet new people...get your mind off it all." He had almost whispered the last part. Reaching over, he placed his hand on Lucas's. "The sooner you begin life again, the sooner you can heal, Lucas. You've restored the world - now you need to restore yourself."

"We love you, kiddo." Kumatora had spoken with passion. "But I don't think we can mend you."

"I don't think anyone here can." Duster had shook his head. "Too many memories, and you don't have the strength to face them yet. A completely new place, a fresh start...if it gets you out of this house, I want you to go."

Lucas had gone quiet. He didn't want to leave, but the same instinct that told him isolation was wrong was peeking through again. _Go._ It had whispered to him. _Go._

Kumatora had grabbed his other hand and pulled him up. "C'mon." She had declared, red eyes gleaming, "We're gonna go talk to the man in the square." She had started dragging him at once.

"Kuma, he's not even dressed!" Duster had laughed. "Let him get some clothes on!"

Begrudgingly, she had allowed it. After getting on clean clothes, he had been dragged off to the town square. As promised, a mysterious man had been waiting, his face not visible somehow despite the sunny day. It was as if he had generated his own shadows to hide in. He had taken Lucas's message of acceptance silently, handing him back a list of things he needed to do.

* * *

There had been a lot of work ahead of him, and his friends had been determined to see him through it. He had spent the next month training with Kumatora to develop new PSI abilities- something that positively drained him of his energy. He had ended up with an almost continuous fever as he had tried to master abilities that felt far beyond him.

"Remember how cold the mountains were?" Kumatora had prompted him one day as he had tried to produce PK Freeze. No matter what, nothing had come from his hands. The most he had gotten was a few stray sparks of PSI, drifting away into nothingness. Trying for hours to summon frozen shards had drained him, and he recalled feeling flushed from the fever as his PSI had boiled within him from his efforts.

"I remember." He had grunted, wiping sweat off his brow. The memory of cold had meant nothing to him while he was burning up in the day's sunlight, however.

"You've gotta take that memory and _feel_ it, kiddo. Feel it in your soul and feel it in your PSI." Kumatora had circled like a restless tiger before its prey, red eyes trained on Lucas. "Feel that cold in yourself and let it out. I know you have it in you."

Lucas had shut his eyes and concentrated. He had blocked out everything around him, even Kumatora's steady voice. His breathing had slowed, and he had focused on that sixth sense just beneath his veins, trailing towards his mind. He had followed it, before bringing to light that memory...

_Snow, drifting in waves, falling down. The complete absence of warmth - cold enough to see his breath, cold enough to cool his burning head. Suddenly he had been standing in the midst of winter, white down catching in his hair and his shoulders, eyes reflecting the faraway gray skies. He felt it pile up in his soul as well as the ground, heard bells on the howling wind, felt clear and clouded at once. The confusion of a blizzard, the clarity of ice..._

Lucas had broken through at long last, his fever breaking as he opened his eyes and unleashed that winter in his soul to a summery sky. "PK Freeze!" He had cried as the hexagonal ice burst from his hands, exploding into snow as it reached a peak. Collapsing from the effort, he had blinked in exhausted wonder at the fact that he had _succeeded._

"You did it, kid." Kumatora had grinned proudly. "You really did it."

* * *

The day he had to leave had dawned bright and cool. Standing in front of his house, Lucas had stroked Boney's ears. The old dog had whined quietly, and had put his head on Lucas's knee, staring up at him with sad eyes.

" _I'm going to miss yo_ _u, Lucas..._ " He had yipped softly. " _But don't worry. I'll take care of Flint while you're gone. Will you remember to walk yourself?_ "

Lucas had cracked a weak smile. "Yes, Boney. I'll walk myself. Don't you worry."

" _Oh, I'm worrying._ " Boney had growled lightly, but not in a malicious way. " _I know you don't remember. At least find someone else to walk you if you don't do it yourself._ "

"So today's the day." Their conversation had been interrupted by Duster's voice as he and Kumatora had walked up the trail to Lucas's house, Kumatora yawning in the light of the dawn. "Are you excited?"

"...no." Lucas had quietly admitted, shuffling. "I wish I wasn't going."

"I did _not_ bust my rear trainin' you so you could stay home, kid." Kumatora had frowned, eyes gleaming dangerously. "If you don't go, I'll drag you there myself and dump you on their front porch." Lucas had held up his hands appeasingly.

"Calm down, Kuma, I _am_ going. I'm just not that excited." He had sighed, managing another small smile.

"Oh, Lucas..." Duster had reached into his pocket. "A certain someone wants to join you. For all his bluster about wanting to be a " _plain old snake rope",_ someone wouldn't shut up about wanting to travel. So, have a traveling companion." With that, Duster had plopped Rope Snake into Lucas's arms.

"I won't be any trouble. And this time, my jaw really _will_ be useful!" The small red snake had bragged. Lucas had merely sighed and had given him a tired smile before pocketing him. Rope Snake wasn't exactly much of a companion - he was usually dormant, and only seldom awoke to spout ridiculous nonsense and boastings. But perhaps he could be useful someday, Lucas had mused.

In the horizon, a strange black car had slowly started to appear. Lucas hadn't seen a car like it since New Pork City.

"Guess that's your ride." Duster had smiled. "I hope it goes well, Lucas. Maybe you'll make some friends."

Lucas hadn't gotten a chance to reply to that as his father appeared, shutting the door behind him quietly. Flint had walked over to Lucas and had studied him for a moment, just a moment, his green eyes shining sadly, but with a resignation in their depths. Lucas had looked away.

Giving him a hug, Flint had held him against his chest as though he had been afraid to let go. "Come back to me, Lucas." He had rasped, the emotion thick in his voice. "I can't lose you, too."

"I will, Father." Lucas had quietly replied, nearly tearing up. "I will."

* * *

Everything had been going smoothly until he arrived in the world the tournament was being hosted in. He should have been dropped off at the Smash Mansion.

Instead he had found himself alone in a desolate place, everything gone except what he was carrying with him. The car and driver had vanished, and had left him all alone.

So much for overcoming isolation.

He had been wandering for two entire days by the time the Statue had risen, straight from his nightmares. Weakened by loneliness, exhaustion and grief, he hadn't been able to do a thing besides run. The strange creatures that arose from the purple, snow-like substance didn't help, and he had been so distracted, his foot had gotten tangled in a branch.

It had taken the arrival of Ness to save him. He had recognized him - or at least, recognized his face. This was the boy who Porky had the movie about in the theater - the boy whose life the childish king had been obsessed with. When Porky himself had shown up from the rubble of the statue, Ness's bright violet eyes had widened in horror and recognition.

It hadn't really been Porky, of course. A strange recreation of him - something that haunted both boys' pasts. Lucas had wanted to know what Porky had done to Ness - but he had never gotten to ask the other psychic.

Now he never would.

The rain was starting to let up now as Lucas slowed his run, too exhausted to keep up his pace. _Coward. Coward. Coward._ The word rang in his ears mockingly. He had failed again, lost yet another person. _Coward. COWARD. **COWARD.**_

He wanted to cry. The rain on his face was the closest he got.

"I'm sorry." He whispered the words, finally stopping altogether. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears. Staring up at the sky, he wanted to scream.

Well, that was something he _could_ do.

"I'm sorry!" He screamed upwards, to nobody but at the same time, everybody. "I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I couldn't dodge!" Lucas was shaking now, balling his fists and the gray sky drizzled down. "I'm sorry I couldn't convince you not to go. I'm sorry I couldn't save her. I'm sorry for n-not...n-not saving you..." Lucas wasn't sure who he was even addressing. Ness, Claus... maybe both.

It's not like either one could hear him.

He waited underneath the rain for a few more moments until it began to fade altogether from the skies. The only sound was his breathing. Lucas was beginning to get really sick of it being quiet enough to hear that.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, before once again walking forward without a purpose. His footsteps echoed quietly across the wet, torn-up pavement.

Barely seeing anything, he wandered aimlessly across the blank landscape. He wasn't sure where to go or what to do - everything felt foggy. He wrung his hands as he walked, so overrun with anxiety that he couldn't feel anything. Lucas felt so _numb_ \- the rational part of his brain quietly commenting that he might be going into shock. He chose to ignore it.

So wrapped up in it all, he didn't notice the person right in front of his face as he walked straight into him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Original Author's note was written August 27th, 2019 on Fanfiction.net)
> 
> Remember back in 2017 when I said I was writing a story about Red and Lucas in the author's notes of a one-shot? No? Well, I did, and I'm finally getting around to it.
> 
> Kintsukuroi is going to be a retelling of Red and Lucas's journey during the Subspace Emissary. It's named after the Japanese philosophy and art form that treats breakage and repair as a part of an object's history, mending it in gold. It will be heavily dialogue driven as until Marth, Meta Knight and Ike show up, it's only going to be these two and the Pokémon. It will explore what it means to be broken - and put back together again.
> 
> My interpretation for both characters will involve a lot of headcanons.
> 
> I hope you guys end up liking it! I'm pretty much writing this for me - I love these two so, so much - but maybe you can get some enjoyment out of it too.
> 
> -EBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see Red, and his circumstances of joining Smash.

This region was even bleaker than Red's home of Mt. Silver.

Rain was drizzling down, chilling the trainer to the bone. Adjusting his cap to shield his dull eyes, he walked forward, his footsteps the only sound aside from the torrent of water pelting him. Absentmindedly, his hand drifted to his belt, feeling the familiarity of his allies at his side.

Or should he say, ally.

Having only one Pokémon by his side was foreign to him. When he had first set out, he had his Charmander, of course, but he has quickly added to his party. With a team of six following his every command, he had dominated the League - becoming the youngest champion in living history (beating out Blue, who had been a year older at eleven. He has been ten).

Through all of it, he had almost always had six Pokémon.

Now their were three Pokeballs on his belt and two were empty. All he had was a Squirtle, hatched from an egg that his Blastoise had given him. Squirtle was a resilient Pokémon - he was a spunky fighter, and always eager to go, go, go. But he had a bit of a problem with lacking strength - he was only a few weeks old, after all, but ultimately, that had been what saved him, being so weak Red had been forced to call him back...

Ivysaur and Charizard hadn't been so lucky.

Red felt exposed wthout the much stronger Pokémon by his side, especially his Charizard. Charizard was the only one who hadn't been bred for this tournament. No, Charizard was his oldest companion and the Pokémon Red would give his life for. The draconic beast bore immense strength and could tear through the thickest of walls with his dagger-sharp claws, or scorch any foe that dared cross their path. Without his intimidating strength, battling had been much harder.

He would find him. He _had_ to. If he had known this world would rob him of his dearest companion, he would have never come. Then again, he hadn't wanted to come in the first place, had he? It had taken ample _persuasion_ from his sister and his rival...

* * *

It had been snowing heavily that day, the winds screaming outside the walls of his cave. The last thing Red had expected was for people to show up. Trekking through the abyss of white was practically suicide if you weren't used to navigating it, and quite frankly, it had been a _miracle_ Leaf and Blue had made it up the mountain in one piece.

"RED!" He had heard Leaf shout, before hearing her fist bang on the makeshift door he had constructed to keep out the bitterly chilled air. It had startled him - he had dropped the cup he had been drinking from, flinching as the porcelain shattered on the stone floor. "RED! OPEN UP OR I'M BREAKING THE DOOR!" Leaf had screamed again. It hadn't been an angry yell - she just had needed to be that loud to be heard over the screeching wind.

He had hurried over, unlatching the lock and flinging it open. Blue had crashed past Leaf, scrambling towards the fire Red had built, crackling brightly in the dip that served as a firepit. "Sweet...Mother...of...Mew..." He had grumbled through chattering teeth. "You couldn't have chosen to isolate yourself on a tropical island or something? I'm shocked we didn't run into Articuno coming here!" Leaf had joined Blue by the fireside, warming her hands and huffing her agreement.

"Wh...Why are you here?" Red had finally recovered his voice, stepping over the shards of his cup to join them. "It's dangerous. You could have been killed getting up here!"

"Then why do you _live_ up here?" Leaf had glared. "You know, instead of somewhere easily accessible. Somewhere Mom wouldn't have to worry about you freezing to death? And don't try to claim you're fine!" She had snapped as soon as Red started to open his mouth to protest. "The winds have literally damaged your vocal chords! That's not fine!"

"They're getting better." He had mumbled. "I can talk most of the time now."

"Yeah, after a _year_ of recovery." Leaf had spat. There had been no true hostility in her face though - only worry. Red really hated that Leaf had his mother's eyes - it made him feel like she was there, begging him to come home again. He had hated refusing her plea, but he couldn't return to Pallet Town. It was _stifling_ \- he couldn't bear to be there after seeing so much of Kanto.

Not to mention his _fans..._

Being champion meant he could no longer travel freely. He would get mobbed by trainers, begging to battle, asking for autographs. completely hounding him. That was another reason he had fled to this mountain. Here, only the strongest could seek him out. It was a challenge - the monotony of strength was driving him mad, but at least up here, if anyone found him, he could feel that old _thrill_ he used to get from battling.

"I would ask you to come home," Leaf had spoken so quietly, he could barely hear her, "But I know it's no use. Just like how it's no use to get you to try to talk to anyone in your family more often. Or Blue, or Professor Oak...You just want to be alone."

Red had shook his head, but Blue had interrupted before he got a chance to convince her otherwise. "I get it, Red." He had spoken in a voice that was lacking its usual sharp edge of arrogance, surprising Red. "You don't really want to be alone. You've never been a social Beautifly, but you never wanted to cut everyone off, either." Leaning back, he had looked Red dead in the eyes, causing the champion to feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He had always _hated_ eye contact - Pokémon always took it as a challenge, and so did he. Blue knew this, and Red had realized with his next words that Blue was absolutely challenging him - just not to a battle.

"You're bored, and you don't see any new challenges." Blue had said bluntly. "Understandable, I guess. You're the Champion, after all. So you do the only thing you can think of and climb an Arceus-forsaken mountain in the middle of nowhere. Try to _be_ a challenge - something the best and brightest can aim or to try to fight. And no one around here is gonna convince you to come back to Pallet. You think it's perfect. You think you're gonna pull the strong ones here - Red, you're not. How many trainers have ever climbed here to battle you?"

Silently, Red had held up two fingers.

"Two trainers in three years." Blue had scoffed, shaking his head. "That's pathetic. You're just _hiding_ at this point!" All the while, he was maintaining eye contact. It had made Red's blood boil. "You need to seek out a new challenge if you want it."

"I can't." Red had spat. "I'll get mobbed the minute I get off this mountain!" Not to mention the hassle of dealing with the League itself...never before becoming champion had Red even _dreamed_ of the amount of corruption it held. Just another reason to hide away - just because he was the champion of Pokémon battling did not make him a champion speaker, especially under the watching eyes of the League, where one political misstep could cost you everything. He _refused_ to be their mouthpiece. Blue hadn't been champion long enough to deal with the condescending judgement; he didn't know how truly awful it was...

"Then I guess you need to leave Kanto." Blue had smirked. He had reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope - it had been incredibly fancy. His rival had slid it into his hand. Red had lightly traced the wax seal, which had already been broken. A circle, with two slashes... it was no League symbol he had ever seen. He had carefully pulled the letter out and had begun to read.

_To Mr. Red,_

_You are hereby formally invited to the third Super Smash Brothers tournament as a newcomer participant._

_This tournament is among the largest fighting tournaments in the galaxy. Lodging and necessities will be provided at the Smash Mansion, where you will live alongside many others when you are not battling._

_You are a different case among fighters previously in this tournament. As you do not fight yourself and instead use Pokémon, accommodations will be made for you. You are permitted **three** Pokémon to use - I request that you bring your Charizard, and acquire a Squirtle and an Ivysaur._

_Please send your reply of acceptance or denial to the man at the base of Mt. Silver. He will be there for three days after receiving this._

_Once accepted, you will have one month to prepare. Pack your belongings and be prepared to be transported to the meeting site at dawn a month from accepting. Be waiting at the base of the mountain._

_Sincerely,_

_Master Hand_

_Organizer and Head of the Super Smash Brothers Tournament_

"You opened my mail?" Red had raised an eyebrow, trying to avoid the subject.

"Yep." Blue had spoken without remorse. "And you're going to that tournament."

"We're making you go." Leaf had said matter-of-factly. "You want a challenge. Here's one."

Red had frowned. "I won't go." He muttered. It hadn't even said what region it was in. And what did it mean, he'd be an "exception" since he didn't fight himself? It seemed horribly suspicious.

"So that's all you really want?" Blue had growled. " You just want to hide up here. You don't want to show people your the best. You think winning one League means you're above us all? Guess what? I _was_ champion. Maybe it was only for less than an hour, but I _was._ And I still go out in public! I still seek new challenges!" He had been yelling at this point, all while maintaining that maddening eye contact. "You only defend your title by hiding from anyone who could possibly strip it!"

"That's not true." Red had said in a dangerously low voice.

"Then _prove_ it." Blue had snarled. "Prove it, Red. That letter said it was the biggest tournament in the _galaxy._ Show them all when the great _Champion Red_ is made of! Quit waiting for the challenge to come to you!"

"Fine!" Red finally had all but yelled back. He had been furious - how could Blue, his friend, his rival, say those things?

Leaf had placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Red..." She had whispered, "We care about you. You're not helping yourself, sticking around here. If Kanto doesn't have what you need, then maybe this tournament will." She had looked sad - he had desperately wished she wouldn't be... "Isolation helps no one, and if you can't walk with us..." She had continued. "Maybe you'll find someone like you there. Someone who knows what it's like. Maybe even as strong as you."

 _I doubt it._ Red had thought dubiously.

Leaf had drawn her hand away, reaching into her bag. Very carefully, she had held out a Pokeball. "I bred a Bulbasaur from my Venasaur and Ditto." Placing the ball in his hand, she had smiled very faintly, though it still had seemed sad. "She'll be useful to you, I'm sure."

"...Thank you." He had cradled it close to his torso.

Maybe Blue had been right, thinking about it. His words had stung, but maybe there had been truth he hadn't wished to hear behind it... Red was afraid. Afraid of people, afraid of the League, afraid of the remnants of Team Rocket, afraid of monotony. Ironically, he had fallen into that last one up here - train, sleep, train, sleep. It was a depressing existence that he tried to pass for as satisfying. Maybe this otherworldly tournament would satisfy his thirst for something _interesting..._

He had sighed, and looked up. "I need some paper. Do you two mind taking my reply?"

* * *

"Charizard!" Red had screamed, the volume straining his voice and making his throat muscles ache. "Flamethrower!"

The fiery beast had stomped his mighty foot and had given a resounding roar, before blasting scorching hot flames that Red could feel the heat of several yards away. Sweat had dripped down Red's neck as he had dashed from area to area, barking out orders.

The black car that had picked him up at Mt. Silver had not delivered him to the tournament he was to attend. Instead, he had found himself alone, in the middle of nowhere. The trainer _knew_ it had been too suspicious - and if he got back to Kanto in one piece, he would personally strangle Blue and Leaf. Wandering for a day, he had stopped to rest. He had been attacked shortly after by the strangest creatures he had ever seen in his life. They had come from something akin to snow - but black and purple, and almost fuzzy in appearance, raining down on them in their camp, before rising to a humanoid position, black creatures with green bodies. He had thought they must have been a Pokémon of some sort - but they looked like none he had ever seen, and pulling out his Pokedex had yielded only static.

He had sent Squirtle out, hoping to gain experience for the tiny turtle. But it had quickly become apparent that the Water-type would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of foes. Calling him back, he had sent out Ivysaur, and quickly had found himself having to send out Charizard as well to keep up with the rising number of enemies.

Even though they were weak - most went down in a few hits - they were _many._ Ivysaur had been struggling, her stamina wearing down the longer she fought. Taking advantage of this, the shadow-army had surrounded her. Whipping out a vine, the Plant Pokémon had screeched a warning cry and tried to strike her foes again, just to have the creatures grab it and pull her down. She had been moments away from fainting - Red had needed to think, _fast_...

"Charizard, Rock Smash!" Any other attack would have burned Ivysaur - not good for a Grass-type. There had still been a risk of Ivysaur getting hit, but he didn't have a choice. Unfortunately, his gamble had failed - as Charizard had crashed into the enemies, he had also struck his own ally. Ivysaur had given her fainting cry - but she hadn't fainted. A golden-white light had enveloped her, and with a heavy _thud,_ a statue of his companion had fallen to the ground. It looked hauntingly like an award on his mantle at home - a trophy.

The enemies had taken their chance, swarming over the statue and pulling it away. With a cry of alarm, Red had charged after them, dust flying in his wake as Charizard followed. The fiery beast had glided beside him and gave him a pointed look, sky-blue eyes gleaming with... _anger?_

Of course. Charizard had been upset with him for failing to protect Ivysaur. Without waiting for his trainer's orders, Charizard had flown forward, blasting the enemies with fire. Red had tried to call him back, but he would not listen. Without Ivysaur aiding him, the Fire-type was struggling to stave off all the enemies. With the same flash, Charizard had fallen into the same _trophy_ state.

Red had been powerless to stop the foes from overwhelming Charizard, and could only watch as they had gathered around him and whisked him away. Red had almost sent out Squirtle, but had stopped.

If they took Squirtle, he would be defenseless.

All Red had been able to do was begin chasing the mob, and pray to Mew he could eventually catch up.

* * *

No. Blue had _not_ been right. Red was sure of that now. He had been much better off on the high peak of Mt. Silver, alone with the wind and snow, lurking as a challenge above the world.

Now he was stripped of his beloved companions - including his _starter_ \- and had been following the mob's trail east for two days. This unsavory place he had ended up was just another hinderance. At least the rain had let up, although dark gray storm clouds continued to hang over the atmosphere. Pausing for a moment, he swore he heard footsteps in the distance - ones that were not his own.

No, he hadn't seen a single person besides himself in all the time he had been journeying. It was just his imagination.

Pausing a moment, he looked up, and was alarmed to see red clouds edged along the dark gray ones. After being here two days, and having to fight off the shadow-army three times during (though never in the same numbers as the first time), he knew the black snow would come momentarily. He was so busy staring at the sky, he didn't realize the footsteps had gotten louder.

Until someone walked straight into him.

Turning his head quickly, he looked over who it was.

It was a boy - short, pale, and blonde. His ice-blue eyes met Red's, and it was all the trainer could do to not flinch from the eye contact. The fear was etched clear on the blonde's face, as well as loneliness. What startled Red most was the look in he boy's eyes - Red saw a brokenness he had never observed in anyone else's.

 _Except, maybe, his own reflection._ He pushed the thought away. He wasn't broken. He was too strong to be broken. _Right?_

"S-sorry." The blonde mumbled. It sounded like he was barely thinking straight. He looked stunned - _something_ had clearly happened to him. He shook his head slightly, as though trying to clear his head, and a sudden, sharp gasp, almost like a whistle escaped the blonde. The black snow had come - drifting down to the earth, the shadow-creatures pulled themselves out of the void. From nothingness they arose, stumbling towards the boys with an uneven gait. Their red eyes burned cold and emotionless.

The blonde unconsciously pulled closer to Red, who felt a stab of pity for him. These enemies were closing in fast - it was time to fight.

Hoping to reassure the stranger, he placed one hand on the boy's shoulder and gave a small smile. Red then unhooked Squirtle's Pokeball from his belt with a dramatic flourish. "We can take them." He said in a low, but confident, voice. Tapping the center button and giving a small spin, Squirtle appeared in a flash of red light. Normally Red didn't like to show off, but it seemed to put the blonde at ease. Pointing at the enemies, Squirtle trained his ruby-red eyes on them at once.

Glancing over at the stranger again, he raised an eyebrow. "Can you fight?" The boy gave a hesitant nod, and Red awaited him to throw out his own Pokeball.

Except, he didn't...

Raising his hand, the blonde twitched a finger and energy blazed to life on his hands. Red couldn't hide his shock, tacking a step back in surprise. That's right - that invitation had said his style of fighting, using Pokémon, was going to be an anomaly here... But even still, how was this stranger _doing_ that?

There was no time to think about it - the foes were closing in. "Squirtle, Water Gun!" He commanded, clearing out the first line with a powerful blast of water. The blonde looked equally startled at Squirtle's abilities as Red was of the energy he was summoning, but shaking his head once again as though to banish the thought away, the boy stepped forward and gave a sharp cry.

"PK Fire!" The strange flare on his fingers took a shape akin to the bolt of lightning you would see in a Thunder Stone, before the blonde hurled it into the foes. As soon as it connected, it erupted into a pillar of flame. Astounding - this boy had the abilities of a Pokémon! It burned away two more of the shadows, and Red darted forward with another command to Squirtle. The trio began to advance, eliminating the forces barring their path.

In addition to fire, the blonde could also unleash actual lightning - an attack that left him vulnerable to attacks as he guided it - and could manipulate ice as well. It shocked Red that there could be any such person in any world. Then again, he was fighting creatures that arose from nothingness - maybe this world just _didn't_ operate on logic.

"What...even are these things?" Red hissed as he leapt over a barrier to keep up with the boy and his Pokémon. They just kept _coming..._

"They're called Primids." The blonde gasped, getting knocked back by a swing from one. Shouting out another order to use Withdraw, Red then turned his attention to the boy's words.

"How do you know that?" He yelled over the din of the fight, springing back to avoid getting it with shards of ice as the boy froze their enemies once again. "They can't speak!"

"I heard it in their minds." The blonde replied with a grimace. "I guess they're animal enough I can understand them. They only repeat one thing, anyway - _We are the Primids. From Subspace we rise._ Over and over."

"Hang on," Red sputtered, doing a double-take, "You can read _minds?_ "

The blonde shook his head, sweeping away the idea with his hand before using a branch he carried to smack a Primid back. "N-no! W-well...sort of?" That didn't clear anything up for the trainer, who made a confused grunt before sprinting forward again, blonde in tow.

"I can understand animals." The boy tried to clarify. "Oh! Uh, I guess I should mention, if you can't tell, I'm psychic." _Psychic?_ So this boy was like the Gym Leader Sabrina... but as far as he knew, Sabrina couldn't summon fire, ice, and lightning! "So, uh, yeah. I guess I can read animal minds, and occasionally I can see memories tied to strong emotions in humans...I can't understand your turtle though. I can hear his thoughts, but they're all jumbled, too fast to make sense of..." He gave a strong kick, a psychic blast resulting. "That's strange. I've only ever had trouble understanding the chimeras...wait, is that turtle a chimera?"

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about." Red gave him a quizzical look. The boy was speaking nonsense - as though the champion could make sense of that! "I don't know what a chimera is. For Arceus's sake, I don't know what an animal is either! Squirtle is a Pokémon - a Water-type."

"A...Pokémon?" The psychic looked just as confused as Red felt. "I don't know what that is..."

He didn't know what a Pokémon was?

It was at that moment Red knew his hypothesis about this world not being logical at _all_ was correct. Who didn't know what a Pokémon was? Unless...the blonde hailed from a world where Pokémon didn't _exist?_ Now _that_ sounded depressing. But those "animals" he mentioned... the boy had thought Squirtle was one, or a "chimera"... maybe either of those was just another word for Pokémon, or a creature similar enough to one.

Enough musing. The Primids were still attacking, and Red needed to focus on fighting them.

And so Red, the boy, and Squirtle carried on, vaulting over obstacles and clearing a path forward. There would be time to question all later. For now, their priority was staying alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Original Author's note written circa September 2019 on Fanfiction.net)
> 
> Introducing Red to the story!
> 
> Red is especially headcanon based, as you may have noticed with Leaf being his twin sister. You'll hear more about his family in later chapters, I guarantee it. He's selectively mute due to vocal chord damage and generally being a quiet person.
> 
> I rewrote this chapter at least three times, and I'm still not quite satisfied with it, but I think it's acceptable enough.
> 
> Thank you for reading and reviewing!
> 
> -EBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newly met pair leave the zoo and have a discussion.

The tall boy pressed a button, threw the metallic ball, and in the same flash of red light that had summoned it, the turtle...or, "Squirtle" as he had called it, disappeared. The ball bounced back and he caught it effortlessly, almost lazily. It was a well developed throw, clearly practiced for who knows how long.

Hooking it back onto his belt, the boy started to walk away, with a simple hand raise of farewell. He didn't even speak - Lucas could tell he was definitely the quiet type. Seeing his retreating form, something in Lucas froze. He raised his own hand, as though to stop him, before it slowly drifted back to his side.

He was going to be alone again. It was funny - he had craved isolation while in Tazmily, fleeing from any sort of contact from anyone. He had pushed away people who wanted to help him, people who had genuinely cared. And yet, this complete stranger abandoning him sparked almost _panic_ in Lucas's soul. All they had done was fight together...

Lucas couldn't be alone again. The thought made his heart feel like it was going to stop. He had already had fleeting company stolen from him -

_Ness._

In his mind, the scene replayed once more. Ness's stone-cold body in the grips of a man, lightning reflecting off the polished sheen. He saw that man _laugh_ , felt just as paralyzed...

Ness had been nothing but a stranger with a name to Lucas. Lucas only knew him from the theater in New Pork City, seeing him on screen. But Ness had selflessly sacrificed himself to save him, even though they had barely spoke to each other. Likewise, this tall boy... he had fought with him, guarded him, and offered him some brief comfort. The hand on his shoulder...he wasn't sure why that stuck with him, but it did.

Lucas needed to be brave. He needed to make amends for his weakness. And that meant he needed to save Ness. If the other would let him join him, he would have a much better chance at finding his savior and rescuing him. Lucas didn't want to be alone anymore - and so, he called out to the dull-eyed boy.

"Wait!"

The other turned his head, stopping in his tracks. Raising an eyebrow, he awaited Lucas's next words. The psychic darted over, stopping at his side. Shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, he shakily met his eyes.

"Please." He quietly managed, his voice quavering. "Let me come with you. I've been on my own for days...I-I don't think I can do it anymore. I-I'm searching for someone...I...I can't do it on my own. I can fight - y-you saw. I swear I'll be useful, I...I just don't want to be alone anymore..." Mentally, Lucas kicked himself for rambling. He sounded like a complete fool...

They stood for a moment in silence, the only sound the rushing of the wind and a distant rumble of thunder. Slowly, the taller boy nodded.

"Alright." He agreed softly. "Let's get out of here before the Primids show up again."

Lucas couldn't believe it. The other had _agreed_ \- despite his stuttering mess of a question. As the tall boy turned once again and began to walk, Lucas fell in step beside him. He wasn't sure what to say now, still stunned that he had been answered positively.

 _How about his **name?**_ A voice in his mind chided. _Oh, right._ That was somewhat important if they were going to be traveling together.

"T-thanks for letting me join you." He mumbled bashfully. "I guess I never told you my name, huh? I'm Lucas." The blonde managed a small smile as he introduced himself, fiddling nervously with the edge of his shirt. "What's yours?"

"...I'm Red." He answered, looking over to Lucas. "And it's not a problem." The two went quiet again for a bit, focusing on journeying ahead. It was beginning to lightly rain again, and a glance at the clouds above showed a deep charcoal. Clearly, the storm wasn't over yet - but the red clouds were gone. At the very least, that was positive. Lucas didn't much feel like fighting anymore.

"You said you were searching for someone." Red's voice snapped Lucas out of his thoughts, causing him to jump slightly.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Lucas nodded. Red didn't respond, and didn't even look at the blonde, but had his head tipped in his direction while his eyes remained trained on the road ahead. It took him a moment to realize the other was waiting for him to speak again. "It's going to sound stupid, but, I barely even know him." He admitted, stepping carefully over a rock in the worn trail. "All I know is his name is Ness and he saved my life."

"How so?" The brunette questioned.

"I was being chased by a giant statue." Lucas began. Red's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes briefly flickered over to the psychic. Skepticism was etched on his face. "No, really, I was. I got my foot caught under a branch, and it was about to crush me. But out of nowhere, Ness showed up and destroyed the statue. He's psychic, like I am...but I think he's a lot stronger." Lucas's voice caught in his throat as he thought about the Porky replica emerging from the rubble, feeling a wave of cold wash over him. He _definitely_ wasn't ready to talk about that yet. Right, he would be skipping ahead in his story... "After he saved me, a man attacked us. He had a _huge_ gun - and it shot black arrows. He tried to shoot Ness first - but he dodged every single shot." Even despite the guilt he felt, he couldn't keep the touch of awe out of his voice. "But then he aimed it at me. I...I didn't dodge." Lucas had to pause before continuing, fighting the self-resentment and the lump in his throat.

"Ness hit me out of the way, and took the blow for me. It...it's hard to describe what happened to him, but there was a white light and he became...stone. Completely lifeless. Like a-"

"Trophy?" Red finished for him, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"Exactly." Lucas blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

The tall boy closed his eyes. "I'm searching for someone too." He muttered after a minute. "Two someones, in fact." His hand drifted to the ball, now latched onto his belt again, fingers grazing it lightly, protectively even. "They were turned into trophies shortly after I got here."

"Were you here for the tournament?" Lucas asked as the duo began walking again. The thunder from earlier was louder now, and a light rain was falling again. In spite of himself, he shivered; all this rain felt like it was soaking into his bones.

Red's only response was a short, jerky nod, pushing his cap further over his face to block out the rain.

"Me too," The blonde sighed. "Really wish I had just stayed home."

A small snort came from the other. "Same." He breathed out. "It was better than this."

"Not saying a lot in my case." Lucas muttered under his breath. Shaking his head, he continued. "Out pf the frying pan and into the fire, I guess."

Red didn't answer, staring straight ahead as he plunged through the now-heavy rainfall.

"Your turtle..." Lucas piped up after a bit of silence. "He controlled water, and didn't look like any turtle I've ever seen before. But...you said he's not an animal, right? A...Pokémon?" It had been on the blonde's mind - what kind of place did this stranger come from, where animals - unaltered ones, born straight from nature - had powers? The chimeras he knew in Nowhere had fearsome abilities, but a simple dog, cow, pig, or anything else didn't.

Red made a small noise of confirmation. Clearly, he wasn't the conversational type. Nonetheless, he didn't seem annoyed with Lucas's questions, so he continued. "Does he listen to whatever you say?"

The taller boy considered this for a moment. "...Mostly." He said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "He's still young, so sometimes he doesn't listen. But I _am_ his trainer, so he cooperates for battles."

"Trainer?" Lucas asked, feeling somewhat stupid. _Red must think I'm completely clueless..._ But in a way, he was, wasn't he? This wasn't his world. Everything here was foreign, and he knew nothing of how this place worked. The thought of being so oblivious made him feel small, insignificant - he shrunk a little inside. It was like when he was ten and just learning how to manage the farm after Flint left for the mountains, all the villagers would look at him with that pitying look that as time passed looked more and more disgusted and invoked that _same feeling in him_ -

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his downward spiral of thoughts by Red's reply. "Yeah. I'm a Pokémon Trainer. I go and capture Pokémon in balls like these." He lightly tapped the red and white ball latched to his belt. "Through battle and traveling, a trainer and their Pokémon bond." Red seemed to light up talking about his Pokémon - it was clear the subject meant a lot to him, transforming him from a near mute to a bit of a chatterbox. "I've only had my Squirtle for...a month, roughly. I was asked to breed him for the tournament."

"Is he your only Pokémon?" Lucas inquired.

Red shook his head. "I have a full team of six normally." Suddenly going quiet, he paused. "You...you don't recognize me?"

"No." Lucas said, shaking his head for added emphasis. "I don't know anything about you. Everything you're telling me is new information."

Was it the blonde's imagination, or did for the briefest of moments, did _relief_ flash across the trainer's visage? No, it wasn't his imagination; there was a slight quirk to Red's lips that hadn't been there before. He was subtly relishing in anonymity. Strange, but Lucas didn't try to pry. Instead, he took the opportunity to ask another question. "A team of six? Where are your others?"

Just like that, the brunette's faint smile vanished like a snuffed-out candle. "I was only allowed to bring three Pokémon." He said in a quiet tone, eyes clouding. Three? But there was only one ball on his belt...

_I'm searching for someone too. Two someones._

"Your other Pokémon...were they stolen?" He interrogated softly. Once more, a jerk of the head downwards in a nod.

"I'm so sorry." Lucas awkwardly murmured, at a loss for what to say.

"I'm going to find them." Red spoke in the same, low voice, but it was with a sharp, determined edge now. "The route we're on now is the direction I saw the Primids take my Ivysaur and Charizard. When we catch up to them..." He made a fist, eyes blazing as he stared into the distance. Lucas could feel the anger lingering over him - and resentment, self-resentment, bitter and chilling...

Feeling slightly nauseated by how potent his emotions were, Lucas forced himself to focus on speaking. "You'll find them."

"I will." There was no room for debate in Red's tone. Judging by the long strides and clenched fists, he was prepared to face as many Primids as it took to free his companions. The devotion was admirable - it didn't seem these "Pokémon" were mere pets. Judging by the torrents the little turtle could produce, they were powerful creatures - at least as strong as chimeras, even if Red said they weren't the same creatures. _He must have an iron-clad will to train them,_ Lucas thought.

"You said...Squirtle...was a 'Water-Type?'" He asked after another quiet period. "What other types are there?" The psychic hoped to get that reaction of earlier from Red, lighting up his features like a firefly's glow. Underneath his quiet exterior was a passionate fire, and it fascinated Lucas. He wanted to see it burn brighter, inexplicably. It was as though he wished to hold a candle to that flame and catch some of it onto his own soul.

It would be very nice to be passionate about something again.

"There's Fire, Grass, and Water." The trainer began. "They counter each other. There's a similar triangle with Psychic, Fighting, Dark." Suddenly peering at Lucas, a faint note of curiosity slipped into his voice. "Hey, by chance, are you weak to bugs, darkness, or ghosts?"

"I...don't think so?" He had fought creatures of all those varieties on his journey without too much of a problem, after all.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Red shook his head. "Figures. Didn't think it'd be that easy to sort this world out." Continuing on, he adopted an educating manner as he spoke. "There's Steel, Poison, Fairy..." Lucas didn't understand much of what he was saying, talking about "type matchups" and "dual typing", but still listened intently. "Dragon is weak to Fairy, other Dragon-types, and Ice-types..."

"You have dragons?" He blurted out, a memory flaring in his mind he strove to push away. Beastly eyes reflecting his will, black scales gleaming with blue hexagonal energy from PK Love, flowing freely from them both like the tide of emotions threatening to sweep him away. His hands _itched -_ as though those claws were just under his skin, waiting to break through...

"Of course. Do you not?" Red didn't seem to notice how tense Lucas was.

"...It's a long story." The psychic mumbled. Accepting this answer and not questioning it, Red continued on. He wasn't droning on, or chattering - he simply gave out information a bit at a time, often going quiet for a few minutes between. "Flying is weak to Ice-types, except in certain cases. My Charizard, of course, is Fire/Flying. That negates its weakness to ice, see? Fire is strong against that."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Lucas nodded slowly. "Charizard..." The brunette closed his eyes and nodded.

"Charizard was my starter Pokémon." He explained in a low voice, a bit of wistfulness creeping into it. "I got him when I was ten years old - four years ago. He was just a Charmander back then..."

"Charmander?"

Blinking in surprise at the inquiring tone of Lucas's voice, it took Red a moment to process what he was asking. Realization dawned on the trainer's face, and he started to explain. "Pokémon go through multiple life stages triggered usually by battling where they evolve to different forms. I'm guessing your...not-Pokémon don't have that?"

With a shake of his head, Lucas conveyed his answer. Clicking his tongue, Red made a quiet noise as he pondered this. "We call our creatures animals. They don't evolve mid-life." The blonde expounded. The differences in their worlds seemed to be staggering, to the point it was hard to find shared ground. But did they really need to? They were stuck with each other regardless - unless they wanted to brave the wilds of a foreign land on their own.

"Animals..." He cogitated, tapping his fingers to his belt. His voice cracked midway through the word, trailing off to become faint at the end. The trainer frowned at this, unamused resting face turning to harsh irritation. "Are they..." His voice was fading out all together, Lucas realized with a touch of alarm.

"A-are you alright?" He squeaked out.

Red nodded in response, raising his hands and starting to sign something. Lucas's blank stare caused his hands to drop to his sides again rather quickly, and he gave a frustrated sigh, trying to figure out how to communicate. Finally, straining to speak, he managed a weak whisper. "Vocal chords are damaged. Can't talk well." It sounded painful to force the words out, and Lucas held up his own hands to signal him to stop talking.

"It's okay." He tried to smile, knowing fully well it was probably wobbly instead of reassuring, like he hoped it was. "Don't strain yourself. I...I take it you're not much of a talker, normally." Red's nod confirmed this suspicion. "I'm not either." Lucas admitted. "I always thought there weren't enough quiet folks in the world. Everyone wants to have their bit heard, but who wants to listen?" Red contemplated this before giving a slight nod in agreement.

Falling into a silence, they walked side-by-side. Lucas had to take multiple steps for each long stride his companion took, but managed a steady pace along a partially broken trail. The pair were fast approaching the edge of the ruinous place, with the decayed structures and rusty metal becoming more sparse, on the verge of vanishing all together. He caught himself breathing a sigh of relief - it has been so suffocating in that place...Devoid of life, it had seemed as though the cracked stones of the sidewalk had wanted to trap him there, a place as broken as he was, and steal away his sanity until he was as bleak as everything else.

Red, meanwhile, kept up his enigmatic face as they pressed on. The trainer's emotions were near unreadable on escaping, even for someone as empathetic as Lucas. He could sense the determination lying under that impassive gaze, but his other feelings were hidden. Lucas found that odd - he had never had much of a problem detecting feelings in non-psychics, who couldn't shield their minds from prying sensations. If Red wasn't hiding his emotions consciously, who was he hiding from?

If he was drawing a veil over them for _himself,_ Lucas had to sympathize. He knew what it was like to deny what you feel.

Maybe _he_ was just overthinking it instead.

Whatever it was, Lucas couldn't help but feel pleased that he wasn't alone anymore. That had to be an improvement already, right?

To him, it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Original author's note written circa October 2019, on Fanfiction.net.)
> 
> First non-combat interaction!
> 
> I want to thank y'all who have favorited, followed and reviewed. Seeing my little personal fic get other people on board makes me really happy.
> 
> To address a common thing people have asked: Yes, I am working on Way Back When. I'm afraid I got a little bit discouraged with that fic, but I am working on a Halloween chapter. It's over halfway done so it should be up within the next week!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -EBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair settle down for their first night traveling together.

_Strange._

That was the only way Red could think to describe the other who now accompanied him. Lucas was, to put it bluntly, strange. Everything about him, from Red's point of view, seemed odd. His quiet manner was so unlike the others he had known before - Red had dealt with boisterous Leaf, cocky Blue, all manner of loud and brash and lively trainers - but he was fairly certain he had never met a boy who was so soft-spoken and reflective before. When his voice had faded out, Lucas hadn't minded. He had _understood._

The way he walked betrayed an untold story of cautiousness. He kept his head bowed low, but his cerulean gaze never stopped sweeping his surroundings. He had a habit of fiddling with the edge of his shirt, as though to keep his hands from being idle. Red had trouble telling if he was nervous in his presence or merely troubled about what lay ahead.

It was so _freeing_ to not have a reputation. Lucas had no idea who he was. All he knew was he didn't want to be alone, and the trainer had been willing to let him come with him. It was odd, having a traveling companion - he was still trying to figure out his feelings on the blonde coming with him. He was obviously going to stay with him for a while... Red hadn't had such frequent human contact in a long time. He wasn't exactly known for his people skills. Then again, it didn't seem like Lucas was the most outgoing person, either.

It was getting too dark to see the path in front of them now. Loathe as Red was to stop, he knew it would be reckless to continue through the dark, and he was tired. Though Lucas hadn't complained, he had noted the blonde's pace had slowed in the last hour as well. It was time to stop for the night, even if it meant his Pokémon were carried farther and farther away. Who knew if Primids became tired, after all?

It was still raining - it had continued all through the afternoon. They needed shelter if they didn't want to sleep in the downpour. "Do you see anywhere sheltered? We need to rest." He asked. His voice wasn't as hoarse as earlier, but still sounded slightly strained.

Lucas glanced over to the left. "I'll go look over there." The direction the blonde was referring to was rocky, jutting out over the more plain-like area they were currently in. "Do you want to go look in the opposite direction?" Red nodded his approval at that plan, turning around and heading towards the right. There wasn't much there at a first glance - just muddy ground and the occasional rock. Roaming down the path a bit, he still wasn't finding much aside from a few trees. He was debating about setting up a lean-to from fallen branches when he heard his name being called.

"Red!" He headed back up the trail, seeing Lucas standing on a higher rock. "I found a cave. It's kind of small, but I think we'll fit." A cave was good - far drier than what he had been planning, so long as it wasn't downhill. Carefully climbing up the stones - it was slippery, and he didn't want to fall, breaking something out here would be _disastrous_ \- he followed the other to a cleft in the rocks. There was a small opening - Red would have to crawl low to get in, being so tall.

"It's bigger on the inside, I went in already." Ducking his head, Lucas went within. Dropping onto his stomach, Red snaked in after him. It was a tight fit through the opening, but he had managed smaller before. Pulling himself along, he came out into a larger area after the tunnel. It was tall enough he could sit up, though he had to move around to find an area where he could comfortably do so. The cave was decently wide - Lucas was sitting opposite him, but it wasn't so cramped they were pressed together. There was a fair bit of room for both of them, though not enough room to dig a firepit. The floor was mostly sand, worrying Red about the stability of the cave, but a quick few taps on the ceiling showed it to be sturdy enough.

"At least it's out of the rain." His companion sighed. Red clicked his tongue in agreement, pulling off his backpack and laying it behind him. He took off his hat, shoes, and socks and unzipped his vest next, laying those out on his other side. They might as well dry off, though he would have to remain in his damp jeans and shirt. Lucas had watched him do so before mirroring him, removing his own socks and shoes. With that out of the way, he turned to the blonde.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Yes." Lucas responded. Red figured so; the blonde looked so unkempt that the champion had little doubt he probably didn't even remember when he had last eaten. Pulling his backpack close to him again, he opened it and began looking for his rations. He was having trouble seeing where they were - as the world darkened with the setting of the sun, the last bits of light were fading away from the mouth of the cave, already dimmed by the clouds. Lucas leaned forward as Red scowled, a bit hesitantly. "Do you need a light?"

A light...that would be helpful. Red nodded his answer, and Lucas took it as permission to come closer. Twitching his finger, a blaze of energy flared atop his hand, causing Red to jump back. He had been expecting something more along the lines of a _flashlight_... Beggars couldn't be choosers, though, and it certainly illuminated the area. Pushing his backpack closer to the psychic, he now could see clearly the small container he kept his food in. Pulling it out, Red studied the amount of food he had remaining. He hadn't been expecting to need much, so he only had brought emergency rations to last him about five days, if he only ate once. Two days worth was already gone from his time here - and he would have to split what remained with Lucas now. He _did_ still have all the berries he normally saved for his Pokémon - most were edible to humans, and he doubted he would need them here...

"I have some food with me too." Lucas said quietly, jostling Red out of his thoughts. Reaching into his pockets with the hand not illuminating the cave - _They must be deeper than they seemed,_ Red silently noted - he pulled out something wrapped in a white cloth. Undoing the knot on top, the contents were revealed to be a loaf of bread and a block of cheese. "I know it's not much," He said bashfully, "But it should help."

It would help, that was for sure. "Definitely." He agreed. "We'll still have to look for any food we can find along the way, but this should last us a few days if we stretch it. Break off some of that bread." Lucas formed the light on his fingertips into a ball shape, before releasing it and letting it hoover in midair. Now free to use both his hands, he dutifully followed Red's order, breaking off two chunks of bread. He held out the larger of the two to the trainer - an oddly touching gesture, though he couldn't place why.

The bread had a nutty aroma - he knew what would go well with that. Putting away his container of food, Red instead opened his berry compartment and rustled around until he found what he was looking for. Pulling out a few Pecha Berries, he carefully crumbled a few onto the bread, holding the remaining two out to Lucas. The blonde looked puzzled at the fruit - had he never seen it before? He knew from their discussion earlier in the day that Pokémon were foreign to him, maybe these berries were too. "Pecha berries." He said simply. "They're sweet. Try them." Bending forward, he tipped them into the psychic's hands. Lucas looked how Red had smeared them, and mimicked it on his own bread, though more slowly than the trainer had done.

Taking a bite, he concluded his idea had been correct. The delicate sweetness complimented the grainy texture and taste of the bread perfectly. It seemed Lucas agreed, from expression on his face. "This is really good." He commented in between bites. "Are you much of a cook?"

"...Sort of." He was certainly better than Leaf - she had almost burned down their kitchen once trying to make dinner. After that, Mom had insisted on keeping her out of the kitchen. Red, meanwhile, was fairly competent cooking. It was a skill that came in handy on Mt. Silver. Cooking was one of the few moments of variety in his life.

_Monotony really had been killing him._

No, he wasn't going to think about that right now. "I like to cook." He finally managed, realizing he had left Lucas hanging, waiting for an answer.

"Me too." He smiled faintly. "I made this Nut Bread."

"It's really good." Red responded approvingly. Even though it was somewhat stale, the flavor wasn't any less rich. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"My mother taught me." Lucas's eyes clouded over fondly. "Ever since I was little, I liked watching her in the kitchen. She started letting me help out after a while - little things, mostly, like rolling the dough for bread, or fetching ingredients for a stew. I liked feeling like I was helping. When I got older, she started letting me do more, and started teaching me her recipes. I was helping her with almost every meal by the time I was seven." For a moment, that forlorn shadow had left the blonde's face, and he looked much more youthful. Red was intrigued, despite himself. It passed quickly, and soon that tired look held him down again. Red couldn't help but wonder what had left him like that.

"My mom taught me, too." He volunteered to keep the conversation going. "Though that was mostly to prepare me for my journey, so I didn't start learning until I was nine."

"When did you leave home?"

"When I was ten. Kanto has the youngest age limit of all the regions."

Lucas looked surprised, turning to face Red. "You left home when you were ten?"

"Yeah." He replied. "Me, my twin sister, and my rival all set out at the same time." Was it his imagination, or did Lucas tense ever so slightly at the word "twin"? No, he couldn't tell for certain - even with the strange ball illuminating, it was still dark in the shelter. More likely than not, it had just been a trick of the light.

"Well, that's impressive." Lucas said, and the look on his face showed he genuinely thought it was. It was surprising to Red - it was just so commonplace in his world, he didn't give it a second thought. Red had been entirely independent for four years now. It must be different where Lucas came from - everything seemed to be. "How old are you, by the way?"

"Fourteen." Red replied. Lucas looked surprised, almost dropping his half-eaten bread. A wry smile graced the trainer's features for just a moment. "I know. I'm tall for my age - I'm six foot one already. It runs in my family, apparently." He shrugged, taking another bite of his food. His mother was a relatively small woman - it had been their father Red and Leaf had gotten their height from, at least from what Mom had told him. He had no memories of the man. He had left when they were four, before his baby brother was born. Leaf remembered, but refused to tell him anything about him...

Lucas speaking again snapped him out of his thoughts. "Well, I can't be too surprised. I'm a little short for my age. I'm thirteen." Now it was Red's turn to be shocked. Lucas was a full foot shorter than him - but they were only a year apart?! Shaking his head, he smirked briefly.

"Shorty." He said simply. Lucas scowled, though there was no agitation behind his cerulean eyes. Finishing his bread, he leaned back against the cool wall. "I remember being short, back when I was nine. It sucked." The teasing lightened the tension between them - an icebreaker, of sorts, he supposed. Something more personalized than just their tastes in food.

"Oh, shush." The blonde rolled his eyes, a good-natured glimmer within their depths. "I've heard all the jokes. Being short doesn't really bother me - besides, if I wasn't, I wouldn't have found this cave, and we would be in the rain."

"Fair point." Red conceded. Studying the floating ball of light, still suspended between them, he was inspired for his next question. "How do you do your light thing? You said you were psychic, were you born like that?"

Lucas thought for a moment as he finished his meal. "Sort of." He spoke slowly, musing over the words. "I was born with the potential for it, at least. I didn't learn how to fully control my powers until the last year or so...A person named Ionia taught me. It was...not a nice process." Lucas shivered at the memory, pulling his knees to his chest. It was obvious he was trying to ward off the bad associations as he continued to speak, and Red felt somewhat guilty for reminding him. "A few things I've always been able to do. I could always read people's emotions and feelings - I'm an empath. I used to accidentally heal myself sometimes. Now I can do that on command. Oh, and I can understand animals - always have been able to."

"You mentioned that." Red prompted, interested in the idea. "But you said you couldn't understand Squirtle."

"I can...sort of." The blonde frowned. "His thoughts are really fast - I can only catch bits and pieces. I think with practice, I could learn, but he's very unlike any other animal I've ever talked to. Just like the chimeras..." He added the last sentence in a soft whisper, as though he hadn't meant to say it aloud. _Chimeras..._ another thing he had mentioned before, but judging by the strange look on Lucas's face, it wasn't a subject the trainer should push.

"What could you catch?" He asked, to keep the conversation from going into muddy waters of unpleasantness.

"The only thing I could really make out was that he wanted to protect you."

The champion felt touched at that, hand drifting to Squirtle's Pokeball. He gave it a light rub - the idea that this young Pokémon, only a month old, was already that _loyal_ was astounding. In that moment, he was incredibly grateful to have the tiny turtle by his side. Somehow, it made this dark world seem a little brighter to know he still had a team. Just as fast as he was moved, a wave of bitter regret crashed over him. He missed Ivysaur and especially Charizard - what kind of a trainer was he, letting them get stolen?

He would make it right. He had to. Red would never abandon his teammates. To him, being on a team together was the strongest bond imaginable - one Arceus itself couldn't sever. He would track his Pokémon to the ends of this strange world if he had to.

Snapping back to reality with a blink, the trainer realized he had fallen quiet for a bit. Lucas didn't seem to care - the blonde was busy pushing sand aside to make a small dip in the earth to lie in a few feet away. The world outside had finally gone completely dark as night descended, and the only sound was the steady pattering of rainfall against the stones. Red pulled his backpack near once again and tugged out his sleeping bag, tucked incredibly compact in its pouch - he hadn't used it in a while, before coming here. It was good he had remembered it. Uncurling it, he was prepared to climb inside when he noticed Lucas was lying without any covering at all on his end of the cave. Something about that didn't sit right with him.

Hoping he hadn't left it at home, Red fished around in his backpack one more time until he found what he was looking for. Pulling the neatly folded square out, he unfurled it before tapping the blonde's shoulder. Lucas rolled over to face him. "Hmm?" Without saying a word, he somewhat awkwardly held out the space blanket. Lucas blinked a few times in surprise. "Oh, uh...for me?" He nodded in confirmation, thrusting it at him again. Holding out his hands, Lucas hesitantly accepted it, wrapping himself in the silvery shroud. He seemed a bit perplexed by it - had he never used a space blanket before? They were invaluable for staying warm in cold climates. Nonetheless, he flashed a appreciate smile. "Thank you. Goodnight." He said softly, lying back in the sand. The blonde waved his hand and the ball of light vanished. Conscience now satisfied, Red retreated back to his side of the cave and climbed in his sleeping bag.

Sleep didn't come to claim him quickly - no, Red's mind was far too active for that, and no amount of counting Mareep would make that drowsiness come quicker. Listening to the soft _pitter-patter_ of the rain, he let his thoughts wander again to all the strangeness of the past few days. He regretted coming here - but would staying on Mt. Silver really have been the correct choice? Loathe as he was to agree with Blue, it wasn't as if he could deny the severe lack of stimulation up there. Training day after day for an opponent who never came was nothing but wasted potential - was it even fair to his Pokémon to keep them in an environment so hostile? It certainly had been damaging his own health, with his vocal chords so frayed from the deep freezes. Though, Charizard had never seemed to mind. His blazing spirit and roaring flames could warm even the harshest of winters, and his wings could balance perfectly on the cutting winds of the mountaintop. But his others...were they really faring so well?

If only he could understand Pokémon like Lucas understood animals. A way to have an even deeper bond with his team...it would be incredible. But Red was not one to covet what he could not have. He either pursued what was possible, or did not dwell on it - and since this wasn't possible, it was pushed aside in his mind. Instead, he would focus on getting back his lost teammates, and then getting back home. Whether he went to Pallet or Mt. Silver or somewhere else - it would at least be in his own world, back in familiarity instead of the insanity he was currently faced with.

He couldn't help but wonder what would happen to Lucas. Once again, he was confronted with the thought that the other was _strange_ \- more than just his powers, more than his mannerisms, beyond any of that, there was something _broken_ within him. Of this, Red was sure. His eyes were haunted by a shadow someone his age was far too young to bear. Red knew this look from seeing his own reflection.

What had caused that brokenness? Red was fairly certain it wasn't the same way he was - Red had been broken, innocence stripped away, by the horrors of Team Rocket and the pressures of being the youngest champion in history. All his life he had wanted to leave Pallet Town and learn of the world, and so he did. He went head to head with a criminal organization and had won the championship - both at the cost of his naivety. He hadn't succeeded at dismantling Rocket. Mewtwo may have been out of their reach now, but that just meant there was surely a stake on his head. Another reason to stay on the mountain. No, Lucas's brokenness had to have been different.

 _But there had to be something similar_ , he reasoned. Otherwise, he wouldn't have recognized that look -

His thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched, lonely cry. Startled, he sat up, and listened again.

_Whimpering._

Lucas was whimpering in his sleep, and though Red couldn't see him, he could hear him shifting uneasily in the sand. He sat for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Hnn…"

He sounded absolutely miserable, like a kicked Growlithe. After a moment, pity weighed on his soul. Scooting closer, he felt around for a moment before his fingertips grazed the blonde's hair. Comforting in the same way he would a skittish Pokémon ( _as if he knew any other way..._ ), he lightly threaded his fingers through the soft strands, more than a bit awkwardly stroking his hair. He kept this up for a few moments - _Dear Mew, it was uncomfortable_ \- and slowly, the whimpering subsided, leaving the pair in silence once again.

Red kept it up for another moment before finally concluding his job was done. Though he couldn't see Lucas, his companion seemed much more peaceful now. He drew away, yet couldn't bring himself to fully retreat back to the other side of the cave. Lying closer now, he stared through the dark, watching for another moment just in case. Lucas seemed to have found more peaceful dreams now - his breathing was even and soft, and it was starting to lull the trainer to sleep.

 _Strange._ Lucas was very strange. And this concerned, yet intrigued feeling - it was strange too. For the first time in a long time, Red found himself wanting to get to know another person.

The word repeated in his mind on loop as he drifted to sleep. _Strange, strange, strange._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Original author's note circa November 2019, on Fanfiction.net)
> 
> Red doesn't know how to be a functional human at expressing his emotions: Part One of many.
> 
> Headcanons abound! The way I write Red is a mashup of four canons - game, Origins, manga, anime. I just take bits and pieces I like from each.
> 
> I don't have too much else to say - please review if you enjoyed! I love reading them, so much. These two mean a lot to me.
> 
> \- EBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to travel again - and Lucas stumbles on a terrifying theory.

Rays of light crept into his vision, rousing Lucas slowly from his slumber.

It took him a moment to recall where he was - and who he was with. The blanket resting over his shoulders reminded him, and carefully, the blonde sat up, sand sifting as he displaced it. Red was nowhere to be seen - his sleeping bag had been tucked away in the backpack resting against the wall, and the clothes he had left to dry the previous night were gone.

For a brief moment, Lucas felt panicked - had the trainer abandoned him? Once again, he found that choking, heart stopping feeling, just like he had felt watching the other retreat in the zoo. Cerulean eyes rested on the backpack, and his breathing loosened. Surely Red wouldn't have left _that_ behind.

Pulling the blanket off, he tugged his shoes on and crawled to the mouth of the cave. The psychic's question was answered then - Red sat atop a rock outside, watching the rising sun. Shades of pink, orange and gold broke the skies, casting a rosy hue over the other's features. His eyes reflected the light, shining with a faraway, preoccupied look. He was staring into the distance, watching as though it was his only purpose in the world.

 _He was looking to the way that they would travel today,_ Lucas realized. The trainer must be thinking about his lost Pokémon. They were his purpose. His everything. He couldn't help but admire his devotion.

"Good morning." He quietly greeted after a moment. "It sure is pretty, isn't it?"

Without looking to him, Red nodded. "Been watching the sun rise." He spoke, leaning forward from his position. "The way is going to be rocky. Don't get hurt."

"Ah, scouting ahead? Do you see which way to go, up there?" Lucas inquired.

"Yeah. There's a path."

"Good. We shouldn't get lost, then."

Red sprang down from the rock, landing catlike against the ground. Straightening up, he gave a stretch. "Are you ready to go?" He was completely no-nonsense, already walking towards the cave as he questioned. Lucas was surprised they were heading out at once - he still felt half-asleep, truthfully. It was barely dawn. But he didn't want to hinder the trainer. The psychic had always _hated_ being an inconvenience.

"I'm ready." He agreed, waiting for Red to return. The other vanished into the cave, crawling on his belly like a snake, and emerged again a minute later with his backpack. Dusting off sand from his pants, he started walking ahead at once. Lucas scrambled to catch up with him, kicking up dust in his wake as they navigated the rough terrain.

Red didn't seem sleepy at all, especially compared to lethargic Lucas. Each stride he took was just as alert as the day prior. It reminded Lucas of Flint - the way the trainer strode forward was akin to the rough, heavy steps of Flint's boots on the floor in the early morning. Often, his father was up before the sun was, and even though he was quiet, he would sometimes wake Lucas as he lit a fire. Never would the blonde rise to join him, but it was always nice to be slowly lulled back to sleep by the continuous rhythm of his early morning activities, drowsy eyes blurring from underneath a thick comforter.

Of course, that hadn't happened in a long time. Most days now, Lucas woke alone, when the sun was already high and the sky was a vast expanse of blue, light having chased the darkness out. Flint seldom even came home anymore, and so all too often it fell to Lucas to light the empty hearth, the sounds of wood dragging against the floor seeming far more distant than those footsteps in his youth.

 _That doesn't matter right now,_ Lucas reprimanded himself as he felt a hint of melancholy creep in. Flint was far, far away from him now - separated by space and time as he walked in this foreign world. At the moment, it was just him and Red, voyaging in the early light.

Red's gaze was still locked straight ahead with each purposeful step forward. One hand drummed lightly on Squirtle's Pokeball, and the other was clenched tightly. It was clear he was ready for combat at a moment's notice. Lucas's own stare drifted to the sky. The tell-tale mark of the red clouds was absent - it didn't seem like any fresh Primids would rain down on them at the moment. There still could be forces from the previous day remaining, however, and so he remained vigilant.

The terrain was again leveling off into a level area as the two left the rocky cliffs behind them. Lucas couldn't help but wonder the scale of this world. A gut feeling told him it was _much_ larger than his home of Nowhere - and the island was not small. It took days to travel around it, after all, so how much larger could this world be? Furthermore, how many other people were here?

"Red, did you find anyone else before me?" He asked, glancing to the trainer. Red merely shook his head _no._ "I'm wondering how many others are here, and if there are others, how many came here for this tournament. To lure people here just to ambush them...what even is the point?" None of it added up, and each question Lucas stumbled on led to another.

"...I don't understand it either." Red spoke softly, brow furrowing to interrupt his blank expression. "I think there are others, though. You saw some, didn't you?"

"Yes." He confirmed. "I met Ness, and...the man who captured him. I didn't get a chance to ask Ness if he was here for the tournament, but it seems likely." Ness had recognized the replica of Porky. He had seen it in his eyes, and there had been _hatred_ burning in their violet depths. Ness had a vendetta against Porky, just like he did. He _had_ to have come from the same world as Lucas, then, or he wouldn't have responded so violently to the sight of the twisted boy. Yet even despite that, his expression had mirrored Lucas's horrified one, and Lucas had sensed a strong sense of _regret..._ All of that recognition showed Ness couldn't be from this world, right? His PSI even matched Lucas's. But the biggest giveaway of all was the theater in New Pork City - he had seen the other there, in the movies. But why would Porky play something like that, if Ness so clearly hated him? Each question was racing through his head, splitting into more and more with loose ends to figure out, and none were being answered -

"...Do you think the Primids were the ones to summon us here?" Red asked abruptly, causing his frenzied train of thought to stop as he was once again brought back to the present.

Lucas shook his head. "I don't think so. Hearing their thoughts, all I heard was one phrase on loop. There was no emotion behind it, no...willpower, really."

"But then why would they attack us?" The trainer seemed baffled, wringing his hands in an agitated manner. "They attacked me first. I didn't start it. I brought out my Pokémon to defend myself, and they stole them..." His tone darkened, and Lucas noticed him subtly clenching a fist. "But why would they do it? If they're as purposeless as you say..."

"...Maybe someone is controlling them." Lucas said faintly as the notion drifted to his mind. What if the Primids were just like the Pigmasks? Mere soldiers in a much more complicated order, following commands and nothing else...

Red pondered this for a moment, slowly nodding. "It would make sense. Someone giving orders...they wouldn't know what to do without them. Like a Pokémon."

"Yeah, and...I think...whoever is controlling them...knows about us." The blonde was hesitant to speak about Porky to Red. He really didn't want to get into what the awful king had done to him, his family, and his home...but at the same time, it might be useful for the other to know. What if they ended up facing a foe from _his_ past, after all? He'd just be careful about what he revealed. That couldn't hurt, right? "When I was being chased by that statue...Ness blew it up, and someone had been inside of it, controlling it, I think. It was...a replica of someone from my world. I don't think it felt anything, either - it didn't react to either of us, besides trying to kill us. No taunting, no speaking - just lifelessly attacking. But whoever is controlling the Primids had to have known they were relevant to my life - why else would it be in the same area I was?"

Bracing himself for the probing questions, Lucas looked again to his companion. But he was surprised - Red didn't pry, or question anything the psychic had said. Instead, the trainer just continued to look ahead, though a slight downshift of his gaze showed him to be pondering the blonde's words. "...How would they know about our lives?"

"I'm not sure, but I suspect some kind of...godlike abilities." He answered slowly, thinking over the idea as he tapped his fingers together. "I mean, there had to be some degree of knowledge for us to get our invitations. They wouldn't just pick a random person, would they...? I guess we had to be special, somehow."

"Don't think so." Red murmured, and looked slightly uneasy. He was avoiding Lucas's gaze even more than before, deliberately keeping his eyes locked the opposite direction. "They know us...who we are." Why did he seem so uncomfortable by that fact? Maybe it had to do with the strange sense of relief Lucas had picked up on when he didn't know who his companion was. Or maybe it was just unnerving, _period_ , that their enemy knew who they were. That was how Lucas felt, at least...

He was getting really sick of questions that had no answers.

"They knew my name, and where I lived." Lucas said softly, reasoning out to himself. "The strange man gave me the letter, and then accepted my reply. Then, the black car picked me up a month later."

"Same."

"It was signed _Master Hand._ The letter said he was the head of the tournament. And to have a tournament of worlds, he would have to have omnipotence of some kind..." _Or Pigmask-level technology,_ He silently added.

Actually, come to think of it...

Porky had ripped people from time and space to be his subjects and build his _utopia._ And then, a replica of Porky was seen in this world. People were brought from different times and spaces, it was complete anarchy, and the foes seemed to know them...Had...had he failed? Was this all the doing of the Pigmask Army? _But I pulled the needle. I restored the world. I **felt** the dragon and saw the world in ruin reborn._ Lucas stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the sunrise, which was beginning to blur into a blood-tinted haze as his breathing grew unsteady. _I can't have failed. Everyone was counting on me. I erased them for good, I got rid of the pain. if I failed Claus died for **nothing -**_

His knees could no longer support his own weight, and they buckled beneath him. He was on the verge of throwing up what little contents were in his stomach, bile building and searing his throat. His eyes burned with the tears that would never come out since the End. It _had_ to have been the End. _He couldn't have failed he couldn't have failed **he couldn't have failed -**_

Moments before tasting earth, strong arms had lunged around him, pulling him upright. Red steadied him, a mixture of concern and uncertainty on his face. For a moment, he remained gripping Lucas tightly, as though afraid to let him go lest he fall down again. Pressed against the trainer in an awkward, impromptu embrace, he found the tactile sensations grounding him from his panicked state. Red was warm compared to the chilly morning air, and his vest was soft, brushing against Lucas's shaking arms. The psychic was allowed to remain there for a minute as he regained his bearings, and as his trembling finally stopped, the trainer released him from his grip.

"...Are you alright?" Red finally asked after a few tense moments of Lucas stabilizing his senses.

"Yes." He lied, looking away. The panic attack may have been over, but Lucas was certain he would never be alright again. He had known that for months now.

Red's expression never changed from the slight scowl it often bore, but he could sense the dubiousness Red held towards his statement. Trying to pretend like everything was just _fine_ , he forced a pathetic smile onto his face. "Really. I'm fine. It was just - I was just - please don't worry about it. Please?" Each word was stammered over, causing Lucas to mentally cringe.

Silence met his butchered words, Red not reacting in any way. After a moment, he returned to facing the horizon, gesturing for Lucas to follow once again as he resumed walking, as though nothing more had happened than retying a loose shoelace. Scrambling, he jogged ahead to fall into step beside him once again. A shaky sigh escaped him as he fully recomposed himself once more, which the trainer ignored.

Despite physically being capable, Lucas still felt blindsided by the potential revelation he had stumbled on. He didn't want to face that idea - _couldn't_ face that idea - so he looked for a distraction. Nothing in the scenery held his interest long enough to keep him calm, and his own thoughts were far too traitorous to his mind, so he turned to his companion.

"What's your life like, back home?" He asked, voice still shaky. He hated asking Red to talk - it was obvious he preferred silence - but he couldn't take it, suppressed thoughts bubbling at the surface of his mind. He needed some way to deal with them, and perhaps shifting the focus away from himself would work.

"...Isolated." Red murmured, adjusting the brim of his cap. "I live on a mountain - a dangerous place, Mt. Silver."

"Are you alone there?"

"Not exactly." A hand reached down, tapping the Pokeball at his waist.

"Ah." Animal companions - or at least the equivalent of them. A smile inexplicably found its way to his face at the memory of Boney, quietly standing guard all those times Flint wasn't home. He wouldn't have traded the loyal dog's friendship for anything in those days when Tazmily was turned upside-down by modernization.

Red continued methodically tapping on Squirtle's Pokeball as he spoke. "My Pokemon are always with me." Each tap was in time with his steps. "We train up there. It makes us stronger." _Tap, tap, tap._ "Only the strongest can make it up there. So we claimed the peak, because we _are_ the strongest."

"You are?"

"Of course. I'm the cha-" Red abruptly cut himself off, his taps falling out of rhythm with a scowl. "I am strongest." He amended with a mutter, eyes flashing. Under the stony surface, Lucas could sense a memory had surfaced, one that clearly frustrated Red. _Great._ He didn't need to rub his own mood off on the trainer.

"It must be hard up there." Lucas cautiously steered the conversation in another direction. Thinking about the mountains of his home, he settled on that instead. "Is it cold there? I'm from an island, so I don't see snow very often. The few times I've gone out in it... _brr_!"

Red's scowl was replaced by a more lax demeanor as he gave a small snort. "You'd die on Mt. Silver, then. Snows every day. I like it. Cold is good."

"You're crazy." He shook his head. "You step out in snow and your pants get soaked, water in your shoes, you can barely move - you like that?"

"Not a problem if you're lightfooted."

"I suppose." He conceded with a sigh. "I guess I haven't had much of an opportunity to learn to walk in it."

"Everyone has to learn." Red shrugged. "I did. My hometown wasn't very snowy. Took a bit to adjust. Fell into more snowbanks than I can count." Pausing briefly in his speech, a smile curled over his lips. "Once, I misstepped and almost fell off the mountain."

"You're kidding." Lucas gasped. The idea that Red - who seemed so graceful - could do such a klutzy thing... "Well, what happened?"

"Plummeted downwards off a cliff. Would have died right there - but Charizard saved me. I grabbed his Pokeball and released him, and he caught me and flew me to safety." Red recalled with a distant look in his eyes. "Charizard never will let me down. So I can't let him down, either. I'll find him."

"Just don't go walking off any mountains again before you find him." Despite his foul mood, the quip brought a smile to his face.

Red rolled his eyes good-naturedly, giving a small snort. "Didn't intend on it. Not that I've seen mountains here."

"Just cliffs and rocks, mostly." Lucas murmured, looking at the listed surroundings.

"And that place we were in yesterday."

"That, too." He sighed. "It was such a sad place." The blonde doubted you needed psychic abilities to feel the gloom permeating the area - but this area they were in now lacked that air. It felt easier to breathe out here, in a more natural place.

"It was." The trainer agreed. "Everything was broken. Rusted. Overgrown. It's like we were the first in decades to see it. Expansive, too. Too easy to get lost in."

"Lucky I found you, I guess. I have no sense of direction." Lucas admitted, a slight tint of embarrassment on his cheeks. Alongside his signature clumsiness, it was one of his more negative traits. How many times had Flint lectured him in his childhood for losing his way in the forest for hours at a time...? He was certain it was _many._

"No shame in that. You'll learn." Red's nonchalance made him feel a bit better. Somehow, he had assumed the other would look down on his faults. _Maybe it says something about my own character if I assume the worst of people._ An annoying little thought tugged at his mind, and he did his best to tamp it back down. "I don't know where we're going, really. Just following the Primids."

"Best we can do, I suppose." He sighed.

Really, what else was there that could be done? Stranded in a foreign world, against an unknown enemy, with a stranger by his side...it was hardly an ideal position to be in. The irony made Lucas want to laugh - Kumatora and Duster had sent him away so he could be less isolated and get away from the past. But like a dog on a bone, the past found a way to haunt him, and he felt more alone than ever.

...Well, that wasn't totally true. He had Red. The trainer was a stranger to him, true, but...he was intrigued by him. That had to count for something... _right?_ And maybe with time, he could befriend him.

Snapped out of his thoughts by a low rumble, he saw Red had frozen in place, hand on his belt. "Speak of Giratina..." He muttered, eyes flashing. "Primids. Ahead. Get ready to fight." Unhooking his ball with a flourish, the trainer tossed it out. "Let's go, Squirtle!"

Lucas barely had time to process what was going on before Red charged forward, keeping pace with the turquoise blur dashing forward over the hill. Forcing his anxiety aside, he flared PSI on his hands, crackling in the morning air. Running to catch up, he took in the scene.

Trainer and turtle both were moving fluidly through the hoard, Squirtle valiantly blasting back the shadowed troops with torrents of water. Taking advantage of the spray in the air, Lucas pointed his hands upwards with a sharp cry, invoking PK Freeze. The wave was crystallized and gleamed in dawn's light like diamonds, before breaking into icy daggers with another focused blast of his powers. Primids vanished into nothingness as they were impaled by the sharp stakes.

Looking back to Red, he was startled to see a pleased smile on his face. Merely giving a thumbs-up at his methods, he adjusted his hat and ran forward again, silently directing his turtle to take out a more scattered group with smaller blasts of water. Lucas turned to focus on a separate gaggle coming his way. In addition to the Primids, he was surprised to see several _different_ types of foes. While there had been other oddities attacking yesterday, none were as prominent as the Primids. But in this group...

Alongside two Primids was a swarm of what Lucas could only describe as multicolored stick figures, similar to what Kumatora would often idly doodle in the dirt when she was bored. A blast of PK Fire charred them up - but more were coming. Climbing up Lucas, their sharp features cut into his arms, nicking them and drawing blood. Gritting his teeth with a feral cry, he sprang upwards and flipped with a PSI powered leap, raining the monsters down on the earth. Jabbing out his leg with a strong kick, the blast eradicated the threat - or so he thought.

More kept coming! Unlike the Primids, these creatures seemed numberless. Though they were weak, they were many, and kept trying to bring him down. There had to be a source, producing them... Reaching into their minds, he found it uniform, precise and emotionless- just like the Primids. A name came to him from the depths - _Mites._ But that gave no clue to where they spawned from...

Eyes tracking their movements, Lucas's gaze fell on a cleft a short distance away. Staggering forward while being pursued by foes, he blinked at what he saw. Swirling in midair was some kind of portal, extruding cold energy that Mites were pouring out of. It wasn't like any cold he had ever felt - it wasn't the cold of mountains, of snow, of ice. This was the cold of nothingness, empty space, nonexistence. It crackled with a static that made him flinch, and gathering up his energy, he assaulted it with a blast of PK Love. Crumbling away, all he was left with were three Mites, dealt with easily using a swift kick.

Breathing heavily, he turned back to see how his companion was fairing. Squirtle had effectively cleared out the foes that had been flanking his trainer, the surrounding terrain dripping with water. Surveying the land around him, Red tossed back the ball to recall Squirtle with a soft "Good job."

All seemed well, the danger gone for the moment. Taking a moment to breathe, Lucas shut his eyes - but regretted it at once. A sharp yell pierced the morning air as a lone straggler attacked Red from behind, previously hidden behind the rocks. Falling over, Red struggled under the Primid's weight, trying to punch and kick. Lucas charged the enemy and threw it off, bashing it against the rocks.

"Are you okay?" He breathlessly asked as it dissipated, looking back at the trainer, still on the ground.

"My arm." Red grunted, a sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. "I can't move it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Original author's note written on June 7th, 2020, on Fanfiction.net)
> 
> Look who finally updated. I did it! This has only been in my drafts since November...
> 
> Sorry I haven't updated more. It's been a really sad time for me lately. My grandpa, who I was very close to, passed away, and it's been really hard to motivate myself to do much of anything. But I'm slowly picking myself back up, and hopefully I'll be here more soon.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. If you don't mind leaving a review, I definitely appreciate it.
> 
> -EBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red breaks his arm, recalls some dark memories, and the Subspace threat is discussed further.

All seemed well until Red's face suddenly met the earth, his arm still outstretched from recalling Squirtle.

An explosion of pain flashed through him, full weight crushing the limb into the rocks. Even over the _hiss_ of dark particles leaking from the Primid, he could hear the harsh _snap_ of bone. It felt like fire, coursing through his body, until he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. Thrashing with his good arm and his legs, he desperately tried to throw off his attacker. Stars spun in his blurred vision, but only some of the light particles were his imagination. Crashing into the Primid with a kick, stray sparks drifted down as Lucas landed. The weight on his back was relieved as the foe disappeared into nothing.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, gasping for breath. The concern in his voice showed he knew the trainer _wasn't._

"My arm." He grunted, trying to turn it over, just to find it sent another wave of agony through him. "I can't move it." Trying again, he reached for Squirtle's Pokeball, fallen a little ways away. His fingers grazed the metal, pulling it into his palm after a moment of struggling. But he couldn't keep a grip on it - the warm throbbing of the break made his arm tremble, swelling aggravated further from his effort. Lifting it - or himself, for that matter - was out of the question, at least on that side... "Think it's broken."

"Well, stop trying to move it!" A stern, though worried, remark from Lucas made him cease his efforts. The blonde knelt by his side, reaching out a hand to carefully examine it. Red couldn't help but grit his teeth as he pressed in on the swelling lightly, a low groan of pain escaping him. "S-sorry!" Lucas flinched, apologetically looking away.

"My backpack." He muttered against the pain. "First aid kit. Get it."

Lucas didn't move to follow his order, instead continuing to look at his arm. A flash of annoyance ran through him - this was no time to gawk! He needed to get his arm immobilized, _now_. Getting to a hospital wasn't an option, but he could at least try to stop the swelling. Maybe he could ask Lucas to produce some ice... Thinking the other hadn't understood, his brows lowered in a scowl. "Hurry. No time to lose-"

"Wait." The blonde interjected, stopping him before he could become more agitated. "I...I can help. Better than the kit." Red met his eyes, challenging him to continue. Unnerved, Lucas rapidly continued his explanation. "It's...part of my powers. I can heal injuries. Let me try - I've healed worse." Healing? First there was ice, fire and lightning. Then, the light - but now he could _heal?_

...Just how **_strange_** was this boy?

"Here. Let's sit you up, first." Walking to his other side, Lucas once again knelt. "Can you swing your good arm around my shoulder?" Red obliged after a moment of hesitation. Fumbling his arm upwards, it rested against the psychic's neck, struggling for purchase until his fingers gripped the collar of his striped shirt. Giving an encouraging smile, Lucas slowly started to rise. Red followed suit, resisting the urge to push up with the useless appendage on his right side. Carefully standing, Lucas guided him to a flat rock a few feet away, where he sat. The pain was more dizzying than ever - he was sure he was going to vomit, gripping his head with his left arm and rapidly blinking. He couldn't help his trembling, either, shuddering like a leaf valiantly holding to a branch in a storm.

"Please, hold still." Lucas murmured, hand outstretched to cradle his injury again. His other arm never had released his back, keeping Red from collapsing. The champion couldn't tear his eyes away from the break, waiting to see what would happen with a mix of trepidation, skepticism, and curiosity. He once again hissed as slender fingers touched puffy skin, Lucas focusing his eyes on the task before him. "PK Lifeup Gamma." He heard Lucas breathe out, and a rush of energy surged through the air.

Green light enveloped Red's arm, and he suddenly tensed at the far too _familiar_ feeling of psychic energy on his body...

* * *

_He couldn't breathe, hands desperately grasping at his throat, trying to fight off an attacker that was physically halfway across the room. Suspended in midair, at least five feet off the ground, Red's world swam before his eyes. A hand reached for his belt - the Master Ball, where had he dropped it? He needed to return Mewtwo before it **killed** him!_

_Just as he reached, his hands were moved as though a puppeteer were controlling invisible strings, swinging his arms behind his back at an unnatural angle. He wanted to scream - he could feel tears in his eyes from the agony he was in - but he couldn't even breathe the air to let his pain be known. Normally dull eyes now shone with panic, meeting the powerful psychic's. There was nothing but fury burning in their purple depths._

_Red had gone too far in his pursuit of power, and had found the one monster not even he could tame._

_The pressure on his throat was released, and he gulped in air at once, lungs screaming for more. But before he could do much, he was sent flying through the air. Smashing against the wall, he screeched in pain, collapsing against the floor in a disgraced heap. Mewtwo answered with its own unearthly noise, bouncing off the wall and filling his ears with a hellish ringing. Red's head hung low, and he couldn't stop coughing up thick, dark blood. He wanted it to stop - wanted to correct his mistake - but he knew Mewtwo was far too enraged by his insolence of earlier to listen to him._

_The newly crowned champion had broken an uneasy truce the two had reached after Mewtwo's capture. Red had known Mewtwo was distrustful of humans - how could he not be, after the way Team Rocket brought him into the world? He had rescued the beast from that life in a sense, capturing it in his Master Ball, but seldom had let it loose. It wouldn't fight for him, and he knew this, respecting its boundaries. The trainer had tried instructing it a few times, but his efforts had always been quickly silenced with a poisonous glare or a telepathic threat. Thus, he left the fierce creature alone. Yet, the allure called to him. Even when it was contained, he had been able to feel its power faintly every time he held the ball in his hands._

_He had coveted it._

_It was the next step in becoming **strongest**. His key to defending his title - ever threatened as of late..._

_With the absolute recklessness and a complete lack of fear of nature that only an eleven year old could bear, he had released Mewtwo, telling it coldly that it their arrangement was over. He was champion now - and Mewtwo was **his** Pokémon. Red had looked it in the eyes, challenging with all the fire he held in him, and ordered it to fight by his side. It had disregarded him in the way a Meowth would snub a child extending a hand. Scorned and in a fit of arrogant rage, Red had ordered Charizard to attack._

_One of the deadliest mistakes he had ever made, it turned out. Charizard, his fiercest fighter, had lasted a mere five minutes under the beast's wrath. Before he could call out another Pokémon, Mewtwo had turned his fury on the helpless trainer, and in his surprise, Red had dropped the Master Ball. The clatter it had made against the ground would haunt his nightmares from then on._

_Now, jerking his head up, he could see Mewtwo channeling energy on its hands, darkness swirling in an ominous vortex. Eyes drifting down, his gaze fell on his one source of salvation - the Master Ball, just beyond his reach. Straining his bruised body to move, he reached out a shaky hand, fingertips only grazing the metal -_

* * *

"...Red? Red!"

A voice called into his memories, slowly bringing him back. Blinking the dazed expression out of his eyes, he stared for a moment at his hand, reaching out for a ball that wasn't there.

_...Reaching?_

Giving an experimental flex, Red moved his fingers one by one, turning his palm over and looking at his arm in wonder. The all-enveloping pain was gone, the sensation feeling like a distant dream. There was a residual tingling where the swelling had been, akin to the sensation when one lost feeling in a limb after keeping it still too long. But nothing _hurt._

Lucas's powers really had healed him...

"...-re you okay?" The blonde's concerned tone shook him back to reality, and he blinked the dazed expression off his face. Continuing to move his arm back and forth, he couldn't help his awe. Aside from a slight tenderness setting in, it felt as though his arm had never been broken. By sheer mental power alone, he had fixed it... It was odd to have psychic powers used on him for _good_ , especially after the memories that had resurfaced.

"You healed it." He murmured softly, his voice hoarse as though he had been talking for a while. His companion managed a tired smile, swaying a bit on his feet. He looked drained - had he overexerted himself?

As though reading his thoughts (he hoped he wasn't _actually_ reading them - there had to be a limit to his powers, right?) Lucas gave a sheepish sigh. "That's Lifeup for you." He continued to rock on his feet as he spoke. "'I'm...a little tired. I guess I overdid it. Normally I can handle a lot more than a fight and a healing, but...it's been kind of stressful, if you hadn't noticed." He added with a small, almost nervous, laugh.

"Thanks." Red looked over Lucas's poor state, his own worry arising now for the blonde. "...You okay?" He didn't look like it - he looked exhausted, like any energy he had had been drained. _Come to think of it, that's not so farfetched,_ Red realized. The pair had hardly eaten last night, and the trainer doubted Lucas had been consistently taking care of himself beforehand, either, judging by the dark circles under his eyes and somewhat sallow skin. Although he hated to use more of their meager rations already, he knew the blonde needed to eat.

Shrugging his backpack off and swinging it to his front, he began digging through it until he found his box of food. He still had some jerky - protein would probably help him keep his strength up. _We'll worry about finding more food later_ , he decided as he pulled out the remaining strips. "Eat." With that, Red pushed it into his hand.

Lucas blinked in surprise as the food was thrusted at him. "But..."

"Just eat." He didn't want to hear any objections. "Gotta keep going. Can't have you collapse." His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. Accepting this with a sigh, Lucas began to eat as Red put his backpack back on. Standing up from where he had been sitting, he gestured for the other to follow as they began walking again.

By now, it was about noon. The world around them seemed at peace, but Red still was on guard after the attack of earlier. It wasn't just the battle that had left him uneasy, though - those memories that had been dredged up were running around and around his head, intermingling with the conversation he had been having with Lucas earlier. _"It was a replica of someone from my world,"_ The blonde's voice echoed in his mind. If these foes had known enough about Lucas to mirror foes from his world, they likely could do that from Red's world, too. Could they use their abilities to make replicas of powerful creatures like Mewtwo? Where did their power end?

...Could they create false _legendaries?_

The thoughts were horrifying, and Red was starting to understand Lucas's earlier panic attack after this discussion. As well as the ghastly idea of replicas of powerful Pokémon serving under an unknown foe, there was also the idea of his own Pokémon being used. The army hadn't just wanted to stop them - if they had wanted that, they would have left Charizard and Ivysaur once they were defeated, and would have attacked him instead of running away. It was obvious they had plans for the trophies they had collected.

That led his mind to wander once again to something else Lucas had said. The only other people the blonde had met was a boy and the man who had captured him. The man...who was he? So far, all of the army had seemed lifeless. Lucas said the Primids seemed to only have one train of thought, and the other enemies they had encountered seemed to all be the same, too. "Lucas." He rasped out to get the other's attention. Looking up, the blonde made an inquisitive noise. "The man. The one you encountered. You said he tried to attack you?"

"That's right. And Ness became a trophy, like your Pokémon." Lucas confirmed.

"...That man...why would he do that? The Primids are hostile, but mindless. We know that. But what purpose does he serve?"

Lucas thought about this, eyes facing the ground. "He wasn't mindless. I know that much. I...I guess he works for whatever is controlling the Primids."

"Their goal is to capture us."

Red's murmured hunch resulted in visible confusion from Lucas. The blonde's brows furrowed, and he tilted his head. "How do you know that?"

"He attacked the other guy you were with, using that gun you mentioned. It turned him into a trophy, right?" He paused for Lucas to nod. "My Pokémon were made into trophies, too. Why wouldn't they just leave us if they wanted us gone? The man would have just shot you, too. We can guess barely anyone is here - little chance of rescue."

"...I wonder why he didn't." Lucas mumbled, face flushing red.

"Because there was too great a threat of losing both of you." The trainer was beginning to piece together an idea of what the situation was. "You said your companion dodged several times. There was potential you could have dodged and saved him - there has to be some way to reverse the process, maybe a button - and the two of you could have possibly overpowered him. It was likely better for him to get one of you and run, rather than make a gamble-"

" _I_ ran." A self-loathing expression was on Lucas's face, quietly cutting into Red's musing. Balling his fists, he looked away. "He stood there and laughed while I ran like a _coward_. I could have tried to help him and I didn't -"

"Intimidation tactics." Now it was Red's turn to interrupt, his tone direct and cutting through the frenzy of thoughts Lucas was engrossed in. "In Pokémon battles, it's common to try to scare the opponent. If a Pokémon is too afraid, their attacks will hardly do a thing, even if the Pokémon is still physically able to fight. Why expend energy when you can just scare a foe into submission? You just watched your only ally fall. You had already been fighting, so you weren't at top performance. You were weak from traveling. Of course you ran. You have a basic survival instinct, and you listened to it."

"But I could have saved him."

"Or you could have been captured yourself." He rebutted firmly. "There was always the chance of that. I could have sent out Squirtle to try to save Ivysaur and Charizard, but I didn't. Because if they had gotten him too, I would have been a sitting Ducklett. Don't blame your instincts for keeping you alive. We'll focus on getting them back, instead. Between the two of us we have a much better chance."

Lucas didn't look fully convinced, but he didn't seem on the verge of a self-deprecating spiral, either, facing ahead as they progressed. It was good enough for Red. "If there's anyone else out here..." He continued, "Can't trust them. At least, not right away. Could be allied with Primids." His voice was straining again, the familiar burn building in his throat.

"...I suppose it's not just the Primids, come to think of it." Lucas said after a moment of thought, wringing his hands. "Both at the wastelands we were in, and just now...there were other creatures with them." He gestured at the slashes across his skin - Red had been so busy with his busted arm, he hadn't noticed the other's injuries. "I fought creatures that looked like... well, here." Pulling a stick out of pocket _(now Red was **definitely** convinced they were deeper than they looked)_, he paused at a patch of dirt. Scratching into the tanned earth, Red peered over at his work. A stick-figure, with a slash across its head, was drawn out. The slash looked familiar...

"Primids, same symbol." He croaked out, pointing at the head. Studying it, Lucas nodded as he realized Red was correct.

"You're right." He murmured. "It must be the symbol of that army. Maybe it represents where they come from."

"Subspace." Red recalled. "Read their minds, right?"

"Yeah. I guess it makes them the Subspace Army. It seems to have lots of creatures - they rise every time that black snow falls. They almost don't seem alive..." Lucas fidgeted as he spoke. "But something controlling them has to be alive. There wouldn't be a mindless army just _here_ otherwise...And if you're right, and they are trying to capture us, someone has to be giving orders."

"Trust no one." Muttered the trainer, shaking his head.

"But what is their purpose for attacking us? For capturing us? We know whoever they are has a lot of troops - why would they need us?"

He had no answer to that.

* * *

The sun was creeping low in the sky, rosy pinks and deep purples cast across the world, with the occasional glimmering star. Red was stacking broken tree branches in a pit he and Lucas had dug a few moments previously. They hadn't found any shelter tonight - it would be a night under the stars instead. Thankfully, the rain of the previous day had long moved on, leaving a clear evening instead.

They hadn't progressed as far as Red had hoped to. Lucas's exhaustion had prevented them from going at the same rapid pace as earlier. But they hadn't lagged, either - they were still hot on his Pokémon's trail, and that was good enough for him. Looking up as he finished arranging the branches, he looked around for his companion. "Find any tinder?" He called, voice stronger after resting it for a few hours.

"Yep, will these work?" Fistfuls of leaves were held up as Lucas returned.

"You tell me. You're the one who said you could light a fire." Red shrugged, stepping away. Unceremoniously dumping them on Red's pile, the blonde concentrated a moment. Energy built in his hands, a crimson flame growing and dancing just above his skin as Lucas stared it down, reaching a height that it almost licked the blonde's face. Carefully lowering it, it jumped from his hold to the leaves, and began to spread through the pile of branches. Soon enough, a campfire was merrily crackling in the pit.

"Hopefully the smoke won't attract anything." Lucas murmured with a frown. "We'll have to put it out before we sleep. Though it seems peaceful enough right now..."

"Squirtle can put it out later. Need to let him out, anyway." With a quick snatch and a lazy flick of his wrist, Squirtle flashed out of his ball, glancing around as if to see where the enemy was. Once it became obvious there was no foe, he turned his scarlet eyes to his trainer and made an curious noise. Gesturing casually for him to do as he wished, the tiny turtle Pokémon began to happily race around the outer boundaries of the fire.

"He sure is energetic." Lucas laughed, watching Squirtle bounce about. "You said he's young, right? Maybe he gets tired of being cooped up in that ball."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Red agreed. "Would let him out more, but I need him to stay strong for battle. Once I get my other Pokémon back, it won't be as bad."

Pausing in his manic burst of energy, Squirtle suddenly charged towards Lucas, jumping up at him. The psychic made a surprised grunt as the turtle landed in his lap. "Friendly, too, I see..." He chuckled over the Pokémon's excited chirps. Without warning, Lucas suddenly found his face splashed with water as the Water-Type seemed to laugh. "H-hey!"

"Squirtle, no!" Red scolded, turning a glare to the juvenile. He looked guilty at once, rubbing his head with stubby paws. "Sorry. They do that to test boundaries. Here, wipe your face off." Taking off his vest, he tossed it to Lucas, who made a noise of surprise as it landed over his eyes.

"Oh, kind of like Boney, when he was a puppy." The blonde said as he dried his face, thinking back with a fond smile. "We were really little, back then. I was only about...hmm, I want to say three? He liked to pull at my shoelaces until they came untied and I tripped. Mom always just said to scold him, or he would keep doing that as an adult. I guess that was him 'testing boundaries', like you said."

"Sounds like it." He agreed. It certainly did seem like juvenile behavior, even if it wasn't a Pokémon. "...What does 'Boney' look like, anyway?"

"Oh! Uh, here. I'll show you." Digging around in his pockets a moment, Lucas pulled out a small photograph, extending it to Red. Accepting the paper curiously, Red peered at the creature depicted. It was similar in size to a Herdier - the brown fur looked similar as well, but it was much darker and lacked the signature black "cape" of the species. The ears were floppy like a Furfrou's, but its fur was short, like a Rockruff's.

Eyes drifting to the rest of the picture, Red took it in. Next to Boney was Lucas, an arm looped over the creature with a small smile on his face. Sitting on a stump nearby were two older teens, a scruffy looking male laughing at something a girl with a shock of bright pink hair was saying. They both appeared to be older than Lucas by more than a few years. "...Who're the others?" He asked, curiosity piqued.

"Those are my friends." The blonde answered, leaning forward to take the photo from him again. "The one on the left is Duster. He's a thief, but he's a really nice guy. I look up to him a lot. He's always really level-headed, and I've known him my entire life." Thumb sliding to the other figure, he continued. "And that's Kumatora. She's a princess - but she doesn't really act like it." He chuckled at the thought, leaning back.

"A thief and a princess, huh?" It was odd, hearing Lucas was friends with royalty. There were a few monarchies in his world, but they were more or less figureheads for their regions, lying under control of the League and the Association. There were exceptions, of course - Blue had mentioned the League had been trying to negotiate with Alola's queen for jurisdiction of that region, with little success, for over fifteen years now. Were that to happen, she would become just another _glorified spokesperson._

"Yep." Lucas confirmed as he pulled out the same cloth from yesterday, beginning to divide their ration for the night.

"What do you mean, she doesn't act like a princess?"

"Well..." He rubbed his elbow sheepishly, laughing under his breath. "Kuma is kind of...crass. And a complete tomboy. Err...she's nice! There's no one I know who is more loyal. But...well... Pretty much every inappropriate word I know is from her. She really doesn't have a filter. At all. She'll tell you exactly how it is, though - you can always count on Kumatora for that."

Red couldn't suppress a snort. "She sounds like my sister."

"No filter either, huh?"

"Absolutely not. If you held a gun to Leaf's head and told her to be quiet or you'd shoot, she'd spend her last breath calling you a sick freak."

"Definitely sounds like Kuma. Except she'd use a choice of words a lot stronger than _freak._ " Red couldn't help but grin at Lucas's amused words, tearing into the bread he had been handed earlier as he listened. "We traveled together, before I came here. It's funny," Lucas added with a brief pause, "This kind of reminds me of it. Just being around a fire at night, talking and eating...and of course, the threat of danger, constantly looming over you." This part was said with a mirthless, ironic smile.

"Reminds me of camping out on the routes." Red agreed with a yawn. "Except I was usually by myself, except for my Pokémon." As if on cue, Squirtle hopped out of Lucas's lap and toddled over to his trainer, who began rubbing his smooth head. "Blue, Leaf and I didn't stay together much, but that's okay. Got used to being alone - didn't need anyone, could take care of myself."

"But I bet it got lonely." Lucas's voice was distant as he stared into the flames. "I was alone a lot before I started traveling with them. It...wore on me, being isolated every day on my family's farm. Father was always away, after all.."

"It doesn't bother me." Red repeated nonchalantly, but an annoying little voice nagged at him, calling it out for the lie he knew it to be. _If it doesn't bother you, then why did you spend hours each day waiting on the mountain for someone to come?_ It whispered, making him clench his fists. _I was waiting for a challenge,_ He argued back to himself, but his heart was not impressed.

"How come you didn't stay with your friends?" Lucas asked after a moment, dusting the crumbs off of himself as he finished his meal.

Red had to think about that for a moment, contemplating what to say. "Pokémon journeys are usually undertaken alone." He finally spoke, reasoning it out to himself as much as to Lucas. But that wasn't true for everyone - Leaf had told him she had heard from their mother that their younger brother had just set out on his journey, accompanied by two friends as well as his starter. It wasn't Blue's younger brother he was traveling with - his companions were not rivals, but supportive allies. Come to think of it, it was hardly a new idea - Mom had occasionally mentioned traveling with their father when they were children, just setting out. "...Not always, though." He admitted, in the wake of those thoughts. "But usually, a trainer is alone to form a bond with their Pokémon. When it's just you and them, you form a reliance on each other."

"I guess I understand." A frown still persisted on the blonde's face, evidently not satisfied with his answer. Red wished he had more to give him, more proof it was the best way - but he was still thinking it through himself. "But what about working with others, in battle? We did pretty well today."

The counter was true. Red was still impressed with the frozen Water Gun they had managed, turning a strong tidal force into dozens of icy knives. Thinking back on it, he had managed great things working with his friends before, too. The raid on Team Rocket's base would have never succeeded without Blue's ability to think on his feet, and Leaf's knowledge of Pokémon biology had saved the poor experiments held captive there. And yet at the end of the day, they parted ways again...

Deciding to deflect the argument off to Lucas, Red raised an eyebrow and met his eyes. "Why do you travel with others? What do you get from it that you can't get traveling alone?"

"..." Lucas's eyes reflected the light of the campfire, showing his thoughts to be a million miles away. "...Without Kumatora and Duster, I would have never been able to meet my goals." He murmured. "Every time I felt like I would drop from exhaustion, they were there to lift me up. When we were in fights, they were always there to guard my back. They...they were there through the very worst times." His eyes clenched shut as the blonde shuddered, overcome by dark memories. "...But they don't understand everything." He added in a whisper, and Red was certain he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

The pair silently reflected on their words, having reached a standstill in their debate. Deciding the day was done, the trainer pulled out his sleeping bag, and once again handed the space blanket to Lucas who accepted it with a nod of thanks. Making a quick gesture to the fire, Squirtle extinguished the flame, embers dying with a _hiss_. Red returned him to his Pokeball before settling back, flexing the hand that had been broken mere hours before. It wasn't even tender anymore...

"G'night." He murmured into the dark, settling into a comfortable position.

"Goodnight." With that answer, Red closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I got a bit wordy this time around. Whoops.
> 
> Red continues to be a dysfunctional person. What a surprise.
> 
> A lot of headcanons here, as well as some more conversation. Another day, another disaster averted...
> 
> I recently joined a really good Discord server for writers in the Smash community, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Join us! The people are nice. gDK48ua is the invite.
> 
> Thanks for reading, please review!
> 
> \- EBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas thinks about Flint and talks about fathers with Red. Warning for past child neglect.

It was all but impossible to fall asleep.

Staring into the dark, Lucas watched the silhouette of Red across from him. He could just make out the steady rise and fall of his chest, showing he was not grappling with insomnia the way the psychic was. It had been an eventful day for them both, and Lucas felt positively _exhausted_ , hardly able to keep his eyes open. Yet sleep continued to evade him as thoughts paced slowly around and around in his head.

He had practically been able to feel the break that had caused the trainer so much pain, an experience from years ago he had tried to block out of his mind. Lucas couldn't help but hold his arm - something he had been doing all day, and now that there were no distractions, there was no fighting the memories in his head...

* * *

_Flint hadn't handled his wife's death well. Lucas knew this from the moment he had seen his father's rage the night of the funeral, thrashing a torch around as Tessie tried in vain to shield his eyes. But Claus's disappearance ramped it up even further than Lucas could have imagined. Suddenly, the young boy had found himself saddled with managing a farm completely on his own as Flint spent more and more time away in the mountains, searching for his lost twin. His father became forgetful of Lucas's basic needs - it wasn't uncommon for him to forget to provide him with food before he left._

_Lucas found he couldn't rely on the townsfolk for much help, either. Fassad was spending more and more time in the square, proclaiming the joys of his Happy Boxes. The flashing lights and pretty colors enraptured even the most stubborn of villagers. When Lucas tried to bring up his concerns, he was said to be childish, trying to cling to the way things had been before Hinawa's death._

_Initially hating the isolation, there were many nights when Lucas cried and begged Flint not to leave. His pleas always fell on deaf ears. Flint would shrug him off, telling him he would be back soon, before exiting without another word. When was "soon"? Lucas could never tell. It seemed to vary, but it steadily grew longer as time went on. At first, it was only a day or so. But days to turned to weeks, until there were months Flint was never home at all._

_But in an ironic twist, Lucas began dreading when his father would come home as he picked up new habits. Before Hinawa's death, he had almost never seen Flint touch alcohol. Now, it was increasingly common for Flint to come staggering home drunk. Sometimes he would pass out at the table, and Lucas would have to try to pull him to his bed with all the strength an eleven year old could muster. Other times, he would get mad and cuss him out as he pleaded with Flint to sit and calm down._

_It was a cold night in December, complete with a rare blanket of snow, when Lucas heard the door squeak open. It was much later at night than Flint had ever come home before. Sleepily raising his head from the heavy blanket he was buried under, he blinked at the outline of his father, framed by the full moon reflecting off the landscape outside. He reeked - the smell was harsh enough to make the boy gag, and he turned over, hoping Flint would go to bed without one of his rants. Closing his eyes, he tried to drift back to sleep._

_Not even a minute later, he heard a sharp yell, and a crash. Sitting up at once, he saw Flint collapsed on the floor, heaving. Throwing off the covers, he pulled himself out of bed, cautiously approaching as Flint began dragging himself up. The man was groaning, head hanging down as he was slowly stumbling to his feet. Unsure of what to do, he watched with a nervous gaze. "Father?" He whispered._

_Startled, Flint whipped around with a speed Lucas hadn't anticipated in his current state. Arm striking the blonde, he reeled from the blow, stumbling backwards into the wood pile. Logs tumbled around him as he fell, hitting the floor with his left side leading. A sharp flare of pain flashed through his body - strong enough that he couldn't help but cry out, tears springing to his eyes. Blinking in shock, it was a few moments before he managed to get up. Flint made no motion to help him - in the moments Lucas had been struggling, Flint had also fallen back down, passed out against the cold floor._

_Unable to focus on anything but the burning agony in his arm, the blonde rushed past him, not even bothering to shut the door in his frenzy. He couldn't move his injured appendage; how he had even managed to get up, Lucas would never be able to recall. He knew Flint hadn't **meant** to strike him - but he had, and the thought numbed his mind until he couldn't feel the cold as he tore through the snow. Falling flurries bit against his cheeks as silent tears ran down, the only sound aside from the crunch of his shoes being his ragged breathing. He didn't know where he was going. Anywhere but home seemed good to him._

_Rushing through the dark town, he stumbled over the newly-paved roads, almost falling on his face once again. He didn't stop his frantic pace until he was well beyond the outer boundaries, chest heaving as he approached Sunshine Forest. The snow masked the damage of the fire a year prior - although the land was healing, there was still scarring on the trunks of the trees from the horrible inferno. Lucas knew it was dangerous to be here. These were no longer the peaceful woods of his childhood. Now, strange creatures had started taking the place of animals, horrifying hybrids that seemed much more hostile than the gentle deer that had once roamed between the trees._

_Out of breath and exhausted, Lucas collapsed in a clearing. Leaning his busted arm into the snow to try to cool the radiating heat, he shivered from pain and the frosty air. It was a strange mix of temperatures, between the winter landscape and his burning arm and hot tears. This would be the night he remembered as his childhood becoming really, truly **dead.**_

_He lay there in the snow for what felt like hours. There was no relief from the pain, his dreadful thoughts, and the biting cold, staring up at the stars. The tears and his dizziness made the night sky blur together, pinpricks of light connected by thin mists. Distantly, he wondered if his mother had seen what had happened from beyond those faraway lights, and the thought hurt his heart. She would hate what had become of them...absolutely hate it..._

_A crunch of snow behind him snapped him out of his thoughts, and he froze, feeling his breath tightening in his chest. What had he been thinking, coming out here? Was this one of the hostile creatures, ready to put him out of his misery? Yet it sounded too lightfooted to be one of the beasts. A more optimistic thought found its way into his head - had Flint come to find him?_

_Lucas didn't care that it had been Flint to put him in this state. In the moment, filled with a bitter longing, he just wanted to be picked up and carried to bed, as though he was a small child again and everything was normal. He would wake up and it would be nothing but a dream - Claus would be shaking him awake, urging him to come out and play, while Mother worked on breakfast and Father tended to the sheep. He wanted to go back. He wanted to believe..._

_"Lucas?"_

_But it wasn't Flint's voice, and Lucas crumpled. It would never be Flint's voice. Not ever again. Instead, silhouetted by the light of the moon was Tessie, a thick coat shielding her slender frame from the winter air. "Lucas, what happened? I saw you run through town like you were on fi- Oh!" Spotting his arm, she knelt and looked at it, glancing questioningly at him. "What did you do to your arm?"  
_

_"..." Quiet for a moment, Lucas spoke the answer he'd give for the next few weeks when anyone asked. "I fell." The half-truth would be all she - or anyone else - ever got out of him._

_Flint included._

* * *

He hadn't even remembered the incident.

Tracing his arm with his finger, Lucas gave a shaky sigh. Flint never knew it had been himself who caused the accident, and Lucas wanted to keep it that way. The concern in his eyes when he saw the injury had been genuine - even before he unlocked his powers, Lucas had been able to read people's emotions acutely. It had been the most worried he had seen his father be over him since the night of the funeral. The blonde often wondered if deep down, his father had known what he had done - from that day on, Flint had never seemed to drink as heavily. Now, after the End, he had even given it up completely, though he still spent his days retreating to the restored wilderness.

He never could hate Flint.

Lucas knew he would have been justified in the feeling, if he did. It was easy to hold a grudge from the years of neglect, searching for a lost twin who seemed to bear far more importance than he ever had. Lucas did carry that bitterness - it was strong, it was encompassing, but it was not hate. Hate was the antithesis of love, Lucas's guiding light, and he could not direct that powerful of a feeling at the father who had taken care of him diligently for ten years of his life. Hate was reserved for only one person, and he was sealed far away where he could never hurt anyone _**again.**_

That said, it was hard to reconcile the neglectful man with the loving father he knew.

Letting his arm fall to his side, Lucas shut his eyes, once again trying to flee his own thoughts. He found himself only partially succeeding. Curiously, Lucas's thoughts drifted again to his travelling partner, still caught up in the restful darkness of sleep. What was his relationship with his father? Red had mentioned his mother and sister, but there hadn't been a word about a father. Was his family as troubled as Lucas's...?

* * *

The question was still on his mind as the sun broke through the sky, still feeling incredibly tired as he woke. No surprise - he had hardly slept, after all. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes. A strong breeze was coming from the west, and alarmingly, the familiar scarlet clouds were layered across the distance. It seemed they would have to be on their guard today, too.

Once again, Red was the first one awake, though it took Lucas a moment to spot the other. A ways down the trail, there was a tree, swaying in the wind. A familiar red hat stuck out from the top of the branches. The trainer was perched, just as he had been yesterday, scouting out their route for the day. Pocketing the blanket - he'd give it back later - and rising with a yawn, Lucas got up and started walking towards the tree. Shoving down yesterday's residual anxiety, the psychic forced a more cheerful demeanor.

"What is it with you and climbing?" He gently teased, peering way up to where Red was seated among the branches. "Rocks, trees - and apparently you've climbed a mountain before, too!"

"Height is good." As Lucas was starting to learn was normal, Red's answer was short and simple. "You should try gaining some, Shorty."

"Return of that nickname, huh?" He sighed, shaking his head as he thought back to the other night. Red merely made a grunt of affirmation before he began to lower himself a branch at a time. Never once did he slip up, jumping from the lowest branch once he arrived. "What did you see up there?"

"Primids." Red's voice dripped with distaste. "All over the trail ahead. Shouldn't encounter them for a bit, though - walking same direction as us." Not waiting for Lucas, he was already heading on his way after scooping up his backpack, resting at the base of the tree. The blonde quickened his pace at once until he was barely trailing behind the trainer, continuing in a casual silence for the next few minutes. The wind carried the smell of the black snow - harsh, sooty, and acidic, almost bringing to mind the sensation of the End. Despite the warmer air, he caught himself shivering.

Just like the previous day, Red's sharp stare never wavered from the way ahead. Lucas's question burned at his mind, tugging at his lips, but he held it back. It seemed wrong to pry, and more wrong still to break the silence. But his thoughts were eating away at his calm, and he still couldn't help but rub at his arm. The friction burned, making the sensation worse. Gritting his teeth, Lucas tried to walk faster so he was keeping pace with Red. It wasn't easy to keep up with him, taking multiple steps for every stride Red took, but it was a much needed _distraction_.

Evidently noticing his odd behavior, Red's eyes broke away from the horizon, briefly meeting Lucas's gaze with a raised eyebrow. Holding the exchanged look just long enough to suggest a question, it drifted away again, but did not return to the way ahead. "I...I'm curious about something." Lucas finally admitted to the unspoken inquiry. Squeezing his hands, he continued on. "I know this seems random, but...what's your father like?"

A surprised look touched his features, Red not expecting the question. "...Well..." He murmured, fidgeting with a wristband, "I haven't seen him since I was four. Don't...really remember him."

"Is he...dead?" Lucas hesitantly touched on the subject, knowing it could be a delicate area to tread on. But Red's face betrayed no emotion, positive or negative.

"Maybe." A small shrug of his shoulders, "I kind of assume so, anyway. In my world...there was a war, lasted until I was eight. Killed a lot of Kanto's men. Happened to my rival's family - Dad got blown up overseas when we were five, Mom died as a medic a year later. Left him, his sister, and little brother alone. Raised by their grandfather after that. Kinda thought that's what happened to mine, too."

_A war?_ The idea of losing so many people at once made Lucas feel vaguely nauseous. "But...you don't know?"

Shaking his head _no_ , Red made a contemplative noise. "Mom doesn't like to talk about him. Always told my little brother he was off on his own journey, but I don't believe it. Ash never met him, he was gone before he was born. Only one who remembers him is Leaf, and she won't tell us anything." A moment of silence passed as he lowered his head, the brim of his hat overshadowing his face and making it hard to determine what he was feeling. "Always wondered why she won't tell us. And if he didn't die, why leave?" Sighing, he began tapping his fingers against his side again. "What about yours? He around?"

Lucas flinched. He should have expected the conversation to go this way... "Not much. He's definitely alive, though." A hint of bitterness crept into his voice. "Not that it much matters." _He might as well have been dead those three years._

"War, too?"

"No, no!" One might argue the modernization of Tazmily had been a war, but Flint hadn't been there for that, really. "He...just wasn't around much. Father was usually in the mountains." He hoped God could hear him in this strange world, because he was praying Red wouldn't ask _why_. Even the thought of having to mention his twin felt like a stake in his heart. "I was alone on the farm most of the time, like I said last night." This is what he got for being nosey...

"What about your mom?" Lucas almost sighed a breath of relief. This question still hurt, but grief's sharp edges had been dulled with time.

"Oh, uh..." He scuffed his shoe against the path, an awkward, sad smile touching his face. "She passed away a few years ago." Red visibly startled, obviously about to apologize, but Lucas held up a hand to stop him. "It's okay. I've had a while to come to terms with it. It's been a few years, and, well...I still miss her every day, but it's not like I'll never see her again." Her ghost amidst the sunflowers had proved that much, besides the _other moment_.

"Was she nice?" Red asked after a moment. Lucas couldn't help but laugh quietly, welcoming the change in mood. The relief that he hadn't asked about what he feared made him a lot more cheerful in his response, despite the mournful topic.

"Like a saint. Mother was the nicest person I ever knew. Except if you tried to go behind her back - she could be scary when she wanted to."

"Think that's a trait of all moms." The trainer spoke with slight amusement edging his tone. "Arceus above, my mom grounded Leaf and I for a month once after we lied to her about going in the grass without a Pokémon. We told her we were going to play - didn't tell her where. Halfway to Viridian before the Professor brought us back. Lucky he found us - don't know how we made it that far without being attacked. Wild Pokémon are territorial."

"I know the feeling." He cracked a smile. "I once broke Mother's spinning wheel and then blamed it on Boney. She didn't believe me for a moment."

"You blamed it on him? When you could understand him? Bet he never let you hear the end of it."

"Absolutely not. He tore up my shoes in retaliation." Lucas sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Funny - Mother was only upset I lied. I'm a bad liar - it was obvious it was me." _Claus was out of the house at the time._ "She said if I had been honest, she wouldn't have minded fixing it."

Red nodded in understanding, tilting his head to the right. "Yeah, Mom wouldn't have minded if we went in the grass if we had her come with us. She had a Houndoom that could have kept us safe, after all. Was only because we snuck off she was mad."

"Well, I doubt she wanted you to get killed out there. Was it really that dangerous?"

"To a pair of seven-year-olds? Absolutely could have been. Most Pokémon there aren't too dangerous - just some Caterpie and Rattata, mostly, but all it would have taken is one Poison Sting or angry Fearow." Red pointed to one of the Pokeballs at his side. "Only started exploring freely once I got my starter. Kanto has the youngest limit to get a trainer's license at ten."

"Your mom still must have been worried, if it's dangerous." Lucas mused softly. Playing in the woods in his childhood, he had never had much fear of the wildlife - if they were agitated, he could usually convince them he meant no harm. Oftentimes, he would even play with the young rabbits and fawns while their parents watched from the bushes. But Red had no such gift - if a creature was angry, it would attack. How on earth would a mother ever be able to justify letting her children out in such a dangerous world?

"Yeah." Red conceded. "But all kids leave home. Just a reality of my world." There was a ghost of some emotion in the trainer's eyes - what was it? Lucas, for all his emphatic abilities, couldn't read Red easily. The trainer was so guarded... "Guess we grow up too fast."

"I know that feeling." He really did. But unlike Red, it wasn't his choice to grow up quickly. At least, he assumed it was Red's choice... Their conversation fell silent as they continued on their way, Lucas relaxing his pace again now that his fervent question was answered. He was still unsure what had inspired the curiosity, exactly, but found a most unusual desire to keep asking Red about his life. It must have just been a side effect of his isolation, being so curious about someone else. Yet he restrained himself from asking anymore at this time - the trainer's voice was already beginning to crack again, and he didn't want to make it go out completely.

Lucas found himself plowing straight into the other's backpack once again as Red froze suddenly, eyes locked on something ahead. Straining his own gaze, he could see the clouds were especially dark and the acidic smell stronger once again. "Primids?" He inquired in a low voice, already springing PSI to his fingertips. But Red's expression didn't just show determination for battle - there was something far brighter there, a ray of hope creeping out from behind a dark sky.

"They're there." He gasped out in a low tone, snatching his Pokeball off his belt with a fluid movement. "Primids - and my Pokémon! Their trophies are there!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! We're at a plot point! This isn't going to be pretty for Red.
> 
> Family ties are complicated matters, as you can tell, and despite this chapter being shorter than normal, I feel it got its point across. I'm enjoying having these two learn things about each other.
> 
> I'd really appreciate any reviews or comments! Thanks for reading!
> 
> \- EBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle for Charizard and Ivysaur occurs, and Red makes a mistake.

Red was off like a shot the moment he spoke, releasing his Pokémon with a quick jam to the button. "Let's do this, Squirtle!" The breathless command escaped him as he focused intently on the horde moving in waves before him. A cluster of Primids clung to Ivysaur at the very front of the group, bobbing up and down as they moved steadily away from him. Charizard, however, was much closer.

Lucas caught up to him as he rushed in, and he spared the blonde only a quick glance. Red's mind was racing as he attempted to strategize, studying the environment as quickly as he could. Ivysaur and her guards were progressing upwards along an uneven, narrow path, and distantly, he could see a chasm to the left that they were trying to avoid - and only somewhat succeeding in their endeavor. Every so often, a Primid would step onto unstable soil, and go tumbling down into the gap below as it crumbled, a _hiss_ sounding as they smacked the ground and presumably disappeared into nothingness. "Stop them from advancing!" The order was barked with a hint of desperation. This was their best chance at getting her back! The Primids couldn't move nearly as fast in such a dangerous area. Giving a nod of acknowledgment, Lucas darted around him, PSI gleaming on the tips of his fingers.

Turning his attention back to Charizard, Red prepared for battle. His trophy was carried on the back of a peculiar monster, dark gray coat somewhat reminiscent of a Mareep's. Charizard's glossy wings were balanced against its curly horns, keeping it securely in place on its huge back. But a look to the front of the monster showed its true horror - a flushed red face, mouth drawn into a toothy snarl at anything that dared come near. Even the other Subspace foes were keeping their distance from the monstrous pit of needle-sharp fangs, which would look more at home on a Mightyena than such a fluffy creature.

Perhaps he could use the wide berth the others gave it to his advantage... "Squirtle, Withdraw!" A jab of his hand to the floor, then swiftly forward, gave the Water-type its cue. Curling in on itself, it rode a wave of water it produced, propelling underneath the legs of a Primid and flying forward. Stopping a foot away from the large monster, Squirtle popped his head out of his shell, looking back to Red, who had darted closer in front of a boulder. The nervousness was evident on his face - evidently, the tiny turtle didn't like its odds against such a feral menace. But the trainer already had an idea. "Circle around it, Squirtle! Withdraw, again!"

Pushed along by the stream of water, Squirtle caught the not-quite-a-Mareep's eye. Bellowing loudly, it tried to turn to follow him, encumbered by the weight of the trophy on its back. Stamping the ground and raising a cloud of dust, every swipe it managed always fell short of the Water-type. His idea was working so far - as it grew angrier, none of its allies would come close, scattering away even farther than before. Lucas was going to have his hands full, dealing with this new wave, but he couldn't concern himself with it right now.

Each spin was jarring Charizard a little more from where it sat. A wing was already scraping against the horn as it was beginning to fall loose, rising and falling with each strike of the oversized Mareep's foot. He needed to keep taunting it, but he had to keep Squirtle from getting caught... He couldn't keep using Withdraw forever. Already the ground beneath him was becoming a thick sludge from the torrents of water, which would make it far too easy for Squirtle to get flipped the wrong way and get stuck. "Squirtle, Water Gun!" He commanded as the Pokémon skidded to a stop in front of the beast, mud spraying across the battlefield. "Aim for its eyes!"

A powerful jet of water stung blazing yellow, and the creature screamed in agony, violently flinging its head to shake it off. The loose wing of Charizard's finally fell completely free, trophy now hanging at its side like a satchel. Red's victorious shout died as quickly as it began, however - in pausing for a moment, Squirtle had made himself vulnerable. Smashing into the Water-type, the creature used both front feet to beat him into the ground with a series of pounding strikes. Fearful crimson eyes met the trainer's as Squirtle wailed in a mixture of pain and fear. "Hang on, Squirtle!" A frantic cry escaped him, and doing the only thing he could think of, Red grabbed a rock and hurled it at the beast with a long-perfected throw from years of tossing Pokeballs. Nailing the savage foe on the left side of its face, its attention was grabbed once again as it locked onto a new target.

Releasing Squirtle, it spun in a rapid turn towards the trainer. This was the final motion needed for Charizard's trophy to break free, and as the not-quite-a-Mareep charged forward, the Fire-type went flying. A gleam of sunlight caught the golden base in midair, spiraling down and crash landing towards where Lucas was freezing foe after foe. Red didn't have time to shout to him - the monster was coming straight for the trainer, closing the distance far too quickly. Powered by adrenaline, at the last possible moment Red threw himself out of the way, tumbling through the mud. The monster plowed straight into the boulder he had been standing in front of moments before, moaning in a dizzied fashion before collapsing on the ground. The flushed anger melted from its face, wool flattening around it. Unconscious, it bore an angelic expression that reminded Red of a Togepi. It didn't remotely resemble the creature that had been raging a mere moment ago, but Red wasn't taking any chances. "Squirtle, Waterfall! Finish it!" His valiant Pokémon, staggering upwards from the rut it had been beaten into, followed his command without question. As the water hit, the oversized Mareep disappeared into the black dust.

"Amazing job!" He praised, flashing a proud smile at the tiny turtle. A quick look-over showed Squirtle wasn't too injured - just dazed, staggering beside him. Now, it was time to get Charizard back! Breathing deeply, he rushed forward towards the unguarded trophy, hands outstretched. But the trophy did not stay unguarded. Now that the Fire-type's guard was gone, the Primids had no reason to stay back. One that was tinted a shade of scarlet emanated flames from between its unblinking eyes. which Squirtle extinguished with a quick blast of water as they neared his trainer. He couldn't help but clench his fists in frustration - _he was so close, but more kept coming...!_

"PK THUNDER!" Hair-raising static suddenly filled the air, and Lucas crashed through the horde like a rocket, arms crossed across his chest as lightning flickered around him, striking all the Primids surrounding the statue. Never before had Red been so happy to see another person. Tumbling to a stop, landing almost on his face, the psychic was within an arm's reach of Charizard's trophy. Straining desperately and lifting his head, he reached as Squirtle and Red desperately tried to keep the foes at bay to buy him time. _If he could just pull the base, he could drag the trophy to him!_ The trainer thought frantically.

But there was no need to pull. As soon as the blonde's hand pressed against the base, an enveloping golden-white light flashed over the battlefield, just as it had when Charizard was trophified. As the light disappeared, there stood Red's beloved starter, shaking off a dazed look with a lashing of his reanimated tail. Red's heart leapt - touching the base of a trophy brought them back! He hadn't lost his Pokémon forever!

Raising his head in a ferocious roar, Charizard stomped his foot and unleashed a blast of flame on the foes around him. Lucas, unable to pull himself up in time, gave a yelp as the fire licked against his skin, frantically rolling away and trying to put out the edges of his clothes, which had been ignited. It seemed Charizard held no regard for the psychic - he might as well have been one of the numerous enemies. "Charizard, stop! He's on our side!" Red ordered harshly, charging forward. The draconic Pokémon's eyes narrowed at its trainer's order - holding his gaze, he breathed out another blast of flame in Red's direction, who scrambled back to avoid being singed. There was nothing but contempt and anger radiating from the Fire-type - he was just as furious with Red as he had been when he was trophified. He wasn't going to obey anyone's orders at the moment, and didn't care who he hurt.

_So that's how you want to play._ Red quickly grabbed Charizard's Pokeball from his belt, jamming his finger against the button in an attempt to return him. Nothing - he was too far out of range. Tossing the ball towards Charizard in another bid to call him back that way, the fiery beast flapped its wings, escaping the ball's reach by going skyward. Roaring again at his trainer, Charizard's threat was obvious.

_Back off. I'm not coming back to **you.**_

Before he could recover the Pokeball and try another way, Subspace's foes were once again advancing. Some were still trying to beat back Lucas and Red, but the majority were surrounding Ivysaur, making it all but impossible to approach her. It seemed the enemies didn't want to risk another loss with one trophy freed. Charizard swooped to their midst, flame bathing them as several Primids attacked with a bizarre projectile weapon, firing a volley of shots above. _Of course, that was what he was still upset about_ \- he thought Red to be _weak_ for losing them both.

The foes were moving rapidly - if they didn't catch up, it would be easy for them to be left behind... Scrambling to his feet, Red pushed past the enemies trying to hold them back, bending only briefly to snatch the fallen Pokeball off the ground. Footsteps pounded the ground as he locked his determined gaze on Charizard, challenging him as he held it up with the blood rushing in his ears. _You're coming back. I won't let you leave. I'm stronger, and so is my will!_ Distantly, he could hear Lucas yelling to him - "Red, wait!" - but the psychic's cries fell on deaf ears. There was no time to go to him, no matter what the flames had done. He had to catch Charizard, _now_. If they lost him, now that he was free, he could escape anywhere in this vast, foreign world. "WAIT!" Lucas screamed again, but never did Red look back, not even noticing Squirtle was no longer by his side.

He wasn't running fast enough. They were advancing too quickly along the narrow path - _he was getting left behind_ - ** _no, no, no!_** The frantic thoughts combined with the sound of battle, with the distant screams of his companion, with Charizard's growls, until the chaos blurred together into one sweeping rush. With a frantic last bid, Red took a running leap, rapidly pressing the button with an outstretched hand. For a fleeting moment, he met Charizard's eyes, but the eye contact was broken as he plummeted downwards, crashing against the path below. He heard the ground crumble under the sudden impact, and it was with a dawning horror that Red realized just how _close_ to the edge of the path he had been.

The last thing Red saw was Lucas and Squirtle running up to the edge of the chasm he was now falling down, Lucas still calling his name as everything went black.

* * *

When he next came to, there was no fighting, no chaos, no enemies. The only sound was that of labored breathing, close to his ear.

Opening up bleary eyes, he winced against the sunlight. The acidic scent of the red clouds was gone, as was Charizard. Distracted from his scrambled thoughts by a sudden sensation of being _moved_ , Red could tell he was being dragged, limp legs catching on each stone in the path. His head was resting against a shoulder, his arms held together, one looped around a neck. A blur of blonde was in the corner of his vision.

Lucas was _pulling_ him...?

It wasn't without a great effort. He could tell the psychic was pouring energy into moving him forward, slowly, but steady, sweat beaded on his forehead, small grunts escaping him every so often with a particularly firm tug. Looking around showed similar scenery to the path they had been on in the morning - they weren't in the chasm he had glimpsed as he fell. Did that mean Lucas had pulled him out?

"You're awake." Lucas, resting for a moment, had finally noticed Red's eyes were open. The relief in his voice was almost palpable. "I was so worried, you had been out for so long-" Standing still, he allowed Red to find his legs again and stand, albeit a bit wobbly. As soon as he was upright and supporting himself, Lucas pulled away, meeting his eyes. The look on his face distinctly reminded him of when his mother was disappointed in something he had done, and Red looked away at once. "What were you thinking?! Didn't you hear me calling after you?" Lucas lectured, concern slipping into his voice despite his anger. "When I saw you hit the ground, I...I thought you were dead! God only knows how you didn't break anything again-"

"I didn't?" The news surprised Red. It had been a steep drop - he had thought for sure he would have broken a leg, if not his _neck_. Yet he felt no burning injuries like he had before. He was incredibly sore and bruised, but those appeared to be his worst injuries as he glanced over himself. If he had any doubts before, they were erased - Red was certain the Legendaries could still watch over him in this world, because Mew must have been looking out for him.

"You certainly don't seem like you've broken anything." Lucas sighed, beginning to walk again. Red hurried after him after a last check over himself to make sure that _yes, he really was alright,_ wincing and grinding his teeth at the aching soreness in his muscles. "Sorry, sorry. Some of that is probably my fault. You're not exactly easy to haul around." Lucas, glancing over at him, had noticed his discomfort.

"...How long were you pulling me?" Red asked, eyes drifting up to the position of the sun in the clear, blue sky. It had moved a significant amount from this morning, past the midday mark. He was willing to bet it was mid-afternoon by the way their shadows were stretched, not quite at their longest point, but extended beyond what they would be at noon. So that would mean...

"A few hours - maybe three or four." Lucas answered with the same conclusion he had just come to.

"How?!" Red couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. Lucas was significantly smaller than he was, as he had pointed out just that morning. The position he had been dragging the trainer in had hardly been comfortable for either of them - had Lucas simply endured it, for hours on end?

For the first time, he found himself studying the physique of his companion. Although slender, and quite short, he could see that his arms and legs were subtly shaped, likely by strenuous conditions. It would explain the kicks he had observed Lucas using in their battles - his legs seemed more muscular than his arms did, built for walking long distances. Another feature caught his eye as well - a multitude of scars crossed Lucas's skin, seemingly from different causes. Some were sharp, as though from raking claws, while others seemed more akin to attacks from fire and other elemental forces.

Lucas's body was a silent story of countless struggles, and he hadn't even noticed. When had his observation become this poor?

Catching him staring, the blonde smiled, though it was impossible to tell the emotion behind the gesture. "I'm stronger than I look." He offered simply, turning away. "Getting you out of the chasm was the hardest part. I had to climb down there without breaking anything myself, which...wasn't easy. Especially after being burned."

_Right._ Charizard had tried to roast Lucas alive. Red couldn't help but flinch. He had callously ignored the blonde's injuries to go after his rogue Pokémon, and his foolishness had made Lucas suffer more to get him out. But there were no burns on his skin, now... "You didn't heal yourself, first?"

"I didn't have time. When I saw you fall, I knew it had the potential to be ugly. If you had broken something, or had gotten cut up on the rocks, every moment would have counted to save you. You could have bled out in the minutes I had taken to tend to myself. So, I just pushed through it." Lucas grimaced, wringing his hands.

"...How did you even haul me up?"

"A mix of my physical strength and telekinesis. It wasn't easy." Lucas let out a short, terse laugh, shaking his head. "Squirtle helped, too."

" _Squirtle!_ " The Water-type had completely slipped his mind! "Where is he?!" On cue, he heard the Pokémon's cry from behind him. Turning around, he could see how tired the little turtle looked - he was panting slightly, lagging behind the pair by several yards. Seeing his trainer acknowledge him, however, he perked up, stiffly limping over as Red crouched to see him better. Despite his exhaustion, the wounds he had sustained in the battle were far less prominent than before, if not gone completely. "Did you...heal him, too?" He turned his head up to his companion, who nodded.

"I healed all three of us, as best as I could. I couldn't spare too much PSI, in case we were attacked again. I would have put Squirtle back in his ball, but...I'm not sure how to open it, and I didn't want to accidentally break it." Lucas looked somewhat embarrassed, rubbing his wrist and shifting on his feet. "He started really lagging in the last hour. I would have carried him, but I couldn't support you both."

Squirtle was so young - he hadn't built up the stamina that the more experienced members of his team had. Red had to bite his lip to keep from frowning at his own foolishness, not wanting Lucas or Squirtle to take it as disappointment in them. His own self-centered train of thought had screwed over everyone, and now, they were even farther behind than they had been before. Even though Lucas had kept them going, the deadweight Red had burdened him with and Squirtle's tiredness had kept that pace relatively slow. Legendaries, how could he have been so _stupid?_

He...he would have to think of ways to increase their pace later. For now, he needed to make things right. Reaching out his hand, he rubbed the tiny turtle's head. Squirtle leaned into his touch, closing his eyes contentedly. "Amazing job, Squirtle." Red softly murmured, his other hand drifting to his belt. Grasping Squirtle's Pokeball, he pressed the button, and the Water-type vanished in a flash of light. He'd let him sleep in there - with how quiet it was at the moment, Red doubted he would need his assistance again today.

With that out of the way, Red pushed his hands against the ground, shoving himself back into a standing position. Lucas had paused to allow him time to tend to Squirtle, looking at him now with an indescribable look on his face. Red briefly met his eyes before looking away, falling into step beside him as they proceeded once more. He needed to apologize to Lucas for his reckless actions, but he found the words catching in his throat, as through wrapped in his mangled vocal cords. No matter how much he tried to force them out, nothing came. The shame burned in his ears, and he found himself lowering his head so his face was concealed in shadow by the brim of his hat.

Perhaps it was Lucas's psychic intuition that caused him to speak first, or perhaps he was simply good at reading a room. "Red, do you remember what we were talking about last night?" He asked softly.

"..." It took Red a moment to browse through his memories of the previous day. "...The thing about traveling?"

"Exactly." Lucas nodded. "You asked me what you could get out of traveling with someone else that you couldn't get on your own. Well, I have an answer for you. A better one, I mean." Going quiet for a moment, he furrowed his brows. Patiently (and perhaps a bit _anxiously_ ), Red waited for the psychic to collect his thoughts. "If you were alone today...do you think you would have succeeded against the Primids?"

That...was a difficult question. At once, Red wanted to say _yes_. He was the _champion_ , a master trainer, a story of unparalleled achievements. But looking back at Lucas's still singed clothes, and feeling his own bruises with every stride forward, he had to hesitate and truly contemplate the answer. Lucas had thrown himself into the fray at once on Red's order, holding back the hoards from running when Red had been battling the not-Mareep. It had been Lucas to make the dive to free Charizard after crashing into the foes surrounding his trophy. It had been Lucas who had ignored his own injuries to pull him out of the chasm, to heal his wounded Pokémon, to keep them going so they wouldn't lose as much precious time.

And so, Red's shoulders sagged, and he let out a single word in a soft breath. "No." He didn't want to face the facts. He wanted to be strong alone - just him and his Pokémon. But the truth contradicted his black-and-white way of thinking. He was strong...but alone, he could have never accomplished the day's events. It was that truth that finally let him speak what had been so difficult to speak out. "Lucas. I'm...sorry."

Now it was Lucas's turn to be silent as he fumbled over his words, as though they were a slick bar of soap in a bathtub. "...I got you hurt. I got Squirtle hurt. I...got myself hurt. Should have listened to you. Without you, Charizard wouldn't have been freed." _Squirtle might have even been stolen from him,_ come to think of it - could Red really have battled off all those hoards on his own? "I'm so sorry."

"Red..." That same slight smile returned to Lucas's face, but this time, the trainer could identify it. It conveyed bitterness - but it was dulled this time, by a faint light of acceptance. "I know neither of us...expected this. We barely know each other, but...well, we're together for this crazy thing. That gets into my answer to your question. When you're traveling with someone else, you can watch each other's backs. When everything goes wrong, and the ground underneath you crumbles - literally, in this case - there's someone there to rescue you. Maybe it is easier, only looking out for yourself - but it's also a lot more limiting. When you fall alone, that's it. You're done for. But when you fall together... at least you can use each other to find your way back up."

"...I think I understand." Red murmured slowly, processing each word.

"But," Lucas interjected before he could say anything else. "If we're working together, then we actually have to rely on each other. It is a trade-off. But...I think we can make it work. I really do think we could make a pretty good team. You're a lot better at planning then I am - I'd much rather do what you told me to than try to pull something together on the spot." The blonde admitted the last part with a small, almost nervous, laugh. "So...I forgive you, but please - don't go falling off anymore cliffs."

It was quiet between them for a few moments, Red contemplating his words. It...made sense, said like that. And while he still couldn't totally shake the idea of independence, he felt more receptive to what the psychic had to say after the events that had transpired. Maybe...maybe Lucas _could_ be apart of his team, at least for the time being.

"...I want to give it a try." He finally spoke up. If Lucas was going to be apart of his team, it was time he _acted_ like it. They were both exhausted - they needed to take care of themselves for once. "...We should stop for today. So...so you and Squirtle can rest, and so we can plan." He didn't want to stop already, but it was as Lucas had said - it was a trade-off.

But the smile Lucas rewarded him with this time was genuine, and despite the fact they were ceasing their travels for the day, Red somehow felt like they were getting somewhere in a different sort of way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this done for far too long, but I just now got around to beta-reading it. Oops.
> 
> I know I had a few people confused with the last chapter on if I was deviating from Subspace's story - nope! I had to have an explanation for how Charizard was free from his trophy state after getting stolen from Red, and I've had this scene planned since I first started this project in 2017, before I even posted the first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed, consider dropping me a review! Hopefully the next chapter won't take months...
> 
> \- EBC


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